Actress Nichelle Nichols, Uhura of Star Trek, shows her support to striking writers outside the gates of Paramount Pictures studios in Los Angeles. At her left is writer/producer David Avallone. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Hollywood Writers Strike Back

The writers of TV shows and movies went on strike in November. They are members of unions that are demanding more money for the writers. The writers work for studios that refuse to pay more for the writers' work. So the writers went on strike by walking out on their jobs.

TV viewers cannot see new episodes of some of their favorite shows while the writers are on strike. Unless they come to an agreement soon, viewers may have only repeats and reality shows to watch.

One of the main reasons for the strike is that writers want more money. They believe they should be paid more when the movie and TV shows they write are later released on DVD or the Internet.

Writers are paid for their scripts
Hollywood writers receive pay for writing scripts. They do not get paid when their work is shown on TV or sold on DVD.

The Writers Guild of America represents the writers. "Guild" is another word for union.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) represents the studios.

The writers are asking for $151 million in pay increases over the next three years. The studios offered $130 million.

The AMPTP says guild writers are "among the highest paid employees in America." They say the "average" writer earns more than $200,000 a year.

The guild disagrees. It says the "typical" writer earns about $62,000 a year. The writers union went on strike on November 5.

It was the first such strike since writers walked out in 1988. That strike lasted five months. It cost Hollywood an estimated $500 million.

Union membership falling
About 12 percent of workers in the United States belonged to unions in 2006. In 1983, 20 percent of workers belonged to unions. Unions were started to protect the rights of workers to fair pay and safe work conditions.

There are 12,000 striking members of the Writers Guild of America.

Unions use the strength of their members to bargain for higher wages and better benefits. Sometimes union leaders decide they cannot get what they want by talking to management. They ask their members to vote to strike (stop working).

Workers often march with signs when on strike. That is called "picketing."

In some cases owners bring in new workers during strikes. Workers who are on strike call those workers "scabs." It is a negative term. If strikes continue over long periods of time, companies can close, and workers can lose their jobs. Suppliers and non-union workers also can lose their jobs. However, most strikes result in better job agreements between the workers and employers.

The result of the writers' strike is that Hollywood is not producing new television shows. The only new shows are reality shows and news programs.

The first affected shows were talk shows like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "The Late Show with David Letterman," and the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Most TV dramas and comedies had four to six new shows done at the time of the strike. Unless the strike is settled soon, viewers will have to be content watching reruns of "Grey's Anatomy" or ""Desperate Housewives." We suggest reading a good book instead.