Striking Writers Guild of America says they have second jobs as retail workers, in the food industry, and others to get by: ‘I’m never sure when work will dry up.’

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• Writers Guild of America is currently on strike as their contract has expired and no new agreement with TV or movie studios have been reached.
• Many writers have complained about low pay when working on shows that are streamed.
• Many said that they had applied for retail jobs or were already working in the industry when they learned they were nominated.

Many people are taking to social media as the Writers Guild of America strikes continues. Guild members have been halting productions, from Marvel movies to late-night shows, to push for better working conditions and pay.

Alrinthea C. Carter, a writer who responded to an Insider article about a writer of the FX hit show "The Bear", who claimed in The New Yorker that he went to the WGA Awards with a negative balance on his bank account when the series was nominated for awards, sent a Tweet which sparked a number of similar stories.

Carter, who is part of the HBO comedy A Black Lady Sketch Show's writing team, tweeted: "I was trying to get a job full-time at Target (and I was rejected)."

Many writers shared their stories and others said that they were also rejected for retail jobs because they had TV shows listed on their resume. They believe companies are hesitant to hire freelance writers, as they may quit if they land another writing gig.

Dozens responded to the tweet and quoted it in support of Carter and other strike writers. They said they assumed that writers on successful TV series made enough money between writing jobs. Several writers have shared their personal struggles to survive, proving that theory incorrect.

Maggie Cannan, who is one of the writers for Adult Swim's reboot of "Robot Chicken", said that she was at Madewell when she learned of her Emmy nomination.

She added: "The cognitive conflict of attending a fancy awards show and being recognized for your writing, then waking up to fold jeans the next morning because there are so few writing jobs ….boy, howdy let me tell you it's tough"

Jake Goldman's IMDb page includes credits as a writer, crew member and producer on shows such as "Futurama", Cartoon Network reboot of the "Powerpuff Girls", which was first broadcast in the early 2000s. He shared his experiences working gigs through the Gig Economy when his episode of the "Powerpuff Girls", originally aired at a film fest.

Goldman tweeted: "When the studio contacted me to tell me that my work would be featured at Annecy Film Festival I was working at a Burger King Compton for GrubHub and hustling to deliver a meal for $5." The studio asked me if I was willing to pay for my flight to France.

Mitali Jahagirdar revealed that the day after she was nominated as a WGA Award nominee for an episode from the Disney+ series, "Just Beyond," "I had to remind my landlord of the broken toilet at my apartment."

Annie Nishida quoted Carter's Tweet and said that she teaches several fitness classes per week when she is between jobs or working. She wrote: "I don't know when the work will dry up."

Other entertainers from around the world also shared their stories, such as Canadian filmmaker Kelly Zemnickis. She said that she had been applying for other jobs at the time her work was nominated.

Zemnickis replied, "I can relate to that." When I was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award (Canada’s Emmy), I applied for a position at a local coffee shop. I did not get the job. "My film won an award at another festival."

Insider's request for comment from the writers was not immediately responded to.

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By: amcdade@insider.com (Aaron McDade)
Title: Striking Writers Guild of America members say they work second jobs in retail, food service, and more to make ends meet: ‘I never know when work is going to dry up’
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/striking-wga-writers-work-second-jobs-to-make-ends-meet-2023-5
Published Date: Sat, 06 May 2023 18:03:51 +0000

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