And we’re back!

2 strikes. 192 days. 6 months.

And we're finally back. Well kind of.

My first year in Los Angeles, the majority of which was not spent working. I won't sugar coat it, it has been a really long and difficult summer.

The WGA (Writer's Guild of America) announced their strike on May 2, 2023. My job (Loot Season Two) ended on May 5 and my last day of work (walkie wrap out) was May 10. That was my last day of employment.

Two months later on July 14 the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild) strike started.

During that time, daily, I applied to job after job and I got a total of 3 interviews. Yes you read that right, 3. One of which I had to turn down because I was entirely unqualified for what they were looking for. One for my dream job, and the very reason I moved to Los Angeles, that was put on the back burner until the strikes ended (keep your fingers crossed for me that I hear something soon). And the winner, a sales clerk at Universal Theme Park, which I begin on Monday.

Six months and my spirits have not been high. My finances are depleted to say the least.

But not once have I been angry at the unions or blamed the WGA or SAG. I stood, I stand, with them in solidarity. I am so proud of everyone that was on the picket lines every day (I was not there nearly as much as I wish I had been) and both negotiating committees that held their ground and fought for what they deserved.

My anger and frustration are solely placed on the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) and studio executives for dragging this on when it could've been solved before the strikes were ever called.

I strongly encourage you to read through the WGA demands and what the AMPTP originally countered with and eventually settled on.

I've attached the link here (https://www.wgacontract2023.org/WGAContract/files/WGA-Negotiations-Tentative-Agreement.pdf) and once SAG ratifies their current tentative agreement, I will make sure to update my post.

Now with the writers back to work and SAG signing a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, our industry is starting to open back up.

But to answer the question many of you have asked, no, I am not back to work yet.

Films and television shows take a lot to get up and running to the point of us actually filming something everyday. They have to go through weeks of preproduction; finalizing scripts, finding locations, solidifying cast and crew and their schedules, and so much more.

With the actors allowed to work again, shows will start preproduction and begin crewing up. But between preproduction and the holidays coming up, it will still be weeks before I probably step on set again.

And I cannot wait.

A show I worked on in 2021, Rustin, is in theaters this week and will be on Netflix next week. Looking through old photos and memories, I can't wait for the 12+ hour days, the early mornings and late nights, the crafty coffee, the camaraderie with the cast and crew, and dare I say even the fraturdays (okay maybe not those).

An estimated 45,000 jobs in the film industry were lost this year. I hope our industry is truly back to normal soon and that we're all back to work quickly.

And more than that, I hope that the studios have learned their lesson this year and to value the people making them money.

I certainly hope that when IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) and the Animation Guild go for their contract negotiations next year that the AMPTP will not repeat their mistakes of this year. But if they do, and IATSE and the Animation Guild go on strike, I will stand with them.

Now that production will be resuming, new tv shows and movies will be coming out. The ones you've been itching for all year and asking for the strike to end so you could have your entertainment back. When you sit down to watch, watch until the end and read the credits. Those names scrolling at the end put their blood, sweat, and tears into making it and are proud to have worked on it. We're proud to work in the film & televison industry.

If there's one thing I learn on every job and especially this summer, is that this is the job I want to do. There is truly nothing else I can imagine myself doing. But we deserve to be treated fairly. We deserve to be paid our worth. We deserve to not have our jobs replaced by AI and told that we are replaceable.

I'll keep you posted when I'm back on set. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for me and for the rest of my industry.