The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain joined writers and other workers around the world for ‘Screenwriters Everywhere’, a global day of solidarity and action on 14 June 2023 in support of the 11,500 members of Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East, who have been on strike since 2 May 2023.
Actions took place in over 30 countries at locations including Netflix, Buenos Aires, Argentina; the European Parliament, Brussels; Apple and Amazon, Canada; National Assembly, Bulgaria; FoxTelecolombia, Colombia; Eiffel Tower, France; Cologne Cathedral, Germany; Tel Aviv Central Library, Israel; Estudios Churubusco, Mexico; EYE Film Museum, Netherlands; Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Poland; Netflix, Seoul, South Korea; Filmoteca de Catalunya and Valenciana, Spain; the Riksdag, Sweden and Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom (see below).
The WGGB protest took place in London’s Leicester Square. WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE and WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth came together with over 200 fellow writers including Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, Enola Holmes 2), Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Dr Who, Queer as Folk), Alice Nutter and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), Dennis Kelly (Together, Utopia) and Succession writers Jamie Carragher, Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche and Francesca Gardiner.
We were also joined by our sister Federation of Entertainment Unions and their members – Equity, Bectu, the Musicians’ Union and the NUJ, alongside WGA members resident in the UK.
Speaking before the protest, WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE said:
“Everything starts with the writer, and we need to make sure that those who profit from the creative brilliance of writers, share those profits with writers, so they can be paid properly, enjoy fair working conditions and be treated with dignity and respect. These are the principles on which the trade union movement was founded, and they are more important today than they have ever been.
“On this Global Day of Solidarity I would like to join my fellow union members in the UK in sending this message to screenwriters across the Atlantic – we hear you, we support you and we stand with you.”
WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth said:
“I’m proud to go out on the streets today, shoulder to shoulder with my fellow WGGB members and others from across the industry, to send a loud message of solidarity to our colleagues on strike in the US.
“We also believe in better pay and working conditions for creators, improved payments on streaming services, protections against free work, and safeguards around artificial intelligence to protect compensation and creative rights.
“Media conglomerates are making billions in profit, yet refusing to share that with writers and other creative workers. I want them to see the wave of collective action around the globe today and know that we all stand united.”
The Global Day of Solidarity was organised by the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe and UNI Global Union (UNI-MEI).
There was an international show of solidarity on social media under the hashtag #ScreenwritersEverywhere and you can see a selection of Twitter coverage below.
Photos: Em Fitzgerald
#ScreenwritersEverywhere WGGB London protest on Twitter
