Belated Labor Day Joy

Big news in Hollywood this week, the Writers Strike has been settled. 

Word has it that the WGA (Writers Guild of America) got most of what they wanted. Meaning the studios and streamer companies could've settled this earlier, they were just holding out and inflicting unnecessary pain. 

Not unlike the car dealer who tells you, "I can't come down any lower on the price of this new Nissan Maxima." Then magically appears moments later, after "speaking with his manager", and presents a lower price. 

I've discovered, at a late age, that the key to negotiations is to walk in with a high tolerance for pain. And bullshit. And never take "NO" for an answer.

The writers would do well to remember the lessons from this strike when contract renegotiations rear their ugly head sometime in the near future. When AI bots become showrunners. Or hologram technology enables viewers to "co-write" their own in home entertainment.

There's another important lesson  for the WGA. 

Next time picket lines need to be walked and 19th century protest boards need to be hoisted on the able shoulders of writers (and self righteous supportive copywriters who are exercise OCD), make sure you provide plenty of white space on the signs. I seriously believe the turnout would have been tenfold higher had there been enough blank signs wherein writers could exercise their penchant for snark.

To that end, I give you the entire Rich Siegel 2023 Library of WGA Union Solidarity:

Actually, this is not the entirety of my Labor labor. 

When the guild failed to provide blank signs, I re-jigged some of my somewhat weaker efforts. What's that old advertising expression? "Sometimes you have to kill your babies."

I'm going to miss getting out there. Adding 6-7000 steps to my daily exercise routine. Making the younger writers laugh. And snagging free bags of expensive pistachio nuts at the rest stations. 

I won't say that my signs played a major role in bringing the conflict to an end. But I won't NOT say it either.

Now, let's get back to Steven Colbert!