Latine writers across Hollywood are banning together on the picket lines as the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike goes into its second week.
WGA members are currently at an impasse with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over several key issues in their contracts, including salary, residuals from streaming media and the use of artificial intelligence in their field.
Many of the approximately 800 Latine WGA members, who are also members of the Latinx Writers Committee, stand with their fellow union members to voice their demands in front of the biggest studios in Hollywood. On Monday (May 7), several Latinx Writers Committee members and many of its allies picketed in front of Universal Studios.
“The majority of writers in the business are middle-class workers who have been struggling to maintain a sustainable career due to shrinking writing budgets designed to maximize profits for the studios that have already been reporting record gains in the billions over the last few years,” Jorge Rivera, Vice-Chair of the Latinx Writers Committee said in an email to Remezcla.
“[We] have been engaged in the effort to raise awareness of the experience of Latinx people in the industry. We’re a struggling middle class on a mission to sustain our careers and push as much Latinx representation onto the screens that have such a huge impact on how we’re perceived by non-Latinos and how we see ourselves.”
Some of the Latine talent who showed up at Universal Studios included Marcella Ochoa (Madres), Gloria Calderón Kellett (With Love), Steven Canals (Pose), Jessica Marie Garcia (On My Block), Mishel Prada (Vida), Chelsea Rendon (Vida), Carlos Miranda (Station 19), Jaina Lee Ortiz (Station 19), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), Ana Ortiz (Love, Victor), Claudia Forestieri (Gordita Chronicles), Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin) and many more.
“As a queer, Afro-Puertorriqueño, I am the exception, I’m not the rule,” Canals told Deadline from the picket line. “I represent a number of communities … that often are marginalized and on the sideline. Currently, those are the folks [who] are not getting opportunities with smaller [writers’] rooms and smaller [series] orders.”
On Tuesday (May 9), at 9 a.m. PST, the Latinx Writers Committee will meet at Netflix to continue protesting together in solidarity.
In the meantime, check out some of the amazing footage caught by Deadline of those from our communities as to why they are part of this strike.