Yeah...so I've been helping out with the strike. I handed out fliers three days last week for a few hours each day. It gives me something productive to do with my afternoons and it does ultimately affect me a lot. Granted, I am not immediately affected in that I don't get to go to my job or make the money I've relied on. But still...no internship in the spring (basically) and what gets decided over this strike will change how I am paid once I am part of the guild and get a job (hopefully). The daily, 9-5 picketing seems to be done for now, but there are a few rallies this week I might try to catch. It feels good to be passionate about something for a legitimate reason. It's not just a random cause to which I've attached myself. Yeah. It's a good thing.
You should help out by signing these online petitions: http://www.petitiononline.com/WGA/petition.html OR www.unitedhollywood.com (select "What can I do to help?" on the right side of the screen).
Frankly, the networks don't really feel like negotiating with the writers at this point. The only way anything is going to get done is if the viewers refuse to watch their online programming and whatever shows they try to replace the sitcoms with (like new game/reality shows that will probably be seriously awful anyway) or if they lose their sponsorship from major companies (like Coca Cola, McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, etc.). I'm going to write letters to these companies on their websites saying I won't purchase their products because I don't want to indirectly support the networks, and I'm also probably going to write to the networks directly. I guess they feel like the strike ultimately won't really affect them for awhile since they will put on shows that don't require writers, an unless the public refuses to support it, they have no reason to end the strike.
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