There is a lot happening in labor right now, including a couple landmark strike authorizations, but this month I’m going to zero in on current events in creative industries. Right now, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike for over a month. There is a thorough breakdown of the strike – who exactly is striking, how the strike affects the television and film industries, which factors have kept writers underpaid – on Vox, but one issue in particular will feel very familiar: writers are not being paid wages that keep up with increases in cost of living and inflation. Aside from creating media that we catalog and check out to our patrons, that’s a crucial need that connects workers right now.
Strikes are a powerful tool, and the writers’ strike has had incredible ripple effects. In addition to all the production delays on various shows and films, janitors joined the picket line after several were laid off, and the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has also authorized a strike. SAG-AFTRA’s statement about the strike authorization addresses the same issues that drove the WGA to strike: inflation, issues with the streaming model that affect residuals (money earned when a writers’ work is reused) and AI. It’s inspiring to see all these workers come together and demand the respect and support that they deserve.
Unlike the television and film industries, comics has no wide reaching guilds or organizations. There have been some successful unionization efforts at individual companies, and notably the Cartoonist Cooperative hopes to provide benefits similar to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA such as challenging unfair business practices. However, the lack of a larger union has a huge impact on cartoonists.
On June 10, the comics community was rocked by the news that beloved artist and friend Ian McGinty had passed away at only 38 years old. McGinty was known for how incredibly hard he worked, and as his colleagues grieved on twitter stories of being overworked to the point of exhaustion and injury emerged. Shivana Sookdeo started #ComicsBrokeMe and the outpouring of stories was astonishing. This is an industry in which publishers throw absurd amounts of money at high-profile writers, while cartoonists develop severe health issues because of unfair contracts and deadlines, avoid doctor’s appointments because of lack of insurance, ration crucial medicine, and take terrible contracts because they have no other choice. Find your favorite artist on twitter or browse the hashtag and you’ll see the appalling truth of what an industry without unions has done to the physical and mental health of the workers.
As unionized workers, we must recognize that solidarity across industries is critical to ensure we continue to win rights and contracts that keep us healthy and safe. All our battles are interconnected, and we need to show up to boost the power of existing unions like the WGA and support the workers in exploitative industries like comics.
Comments