“Abbott Elementary” author Brittany Nichols blasted the industry in a lengthy Twitter thread Tuesday for being “complete dog s—” to members of the Writers Guild of America.
Nichols shared a photo of a chart showing that 98% of staff writers and 95% of story editors at the WGA were working at minimum wage during the 2021-2022 season, up 12 percentage points and 14 from the 2013-2014 season. The percentage point was higher. ,
“As you get promoted, your minimum wage goes up…but what has happened is our minimum wage has become our ceiling,” she said. “They have decided that the less we are willing to accept, the more they are willing to pay.”
He added that many staff writers are “forced to repeat that entry-level job over and over again.”
“And you’d never guess who I’ve heard this happen to more than anyone else. PoC,” she said.
Unlike story editors, staff writers are not guaranteed a script fee under existing contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which “could be the difference between qualifying for health insurance or not, Nichols said.
“Prior to Abbott, I was able to survive this industry by juggling simultaneous jobs on 6 and 8 episode shows and working “unscripted” shows that *should* be unionized but aren’t. But everyone like me Lucky doesn’t happen. “Broadly speaking, the state of the industry is keeping people like me out or creating a situation where we have to leave because we can’t make ends meet. We shouldn’t be forced to give up on our dreams because we are already in the corporate world.” Greed has made it a nearly impossible task to get union writing jobs.
Representatives for the WGA and AMPTP did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
The thread comes as the WGA and AMPTP are set to begin talks on a new contract on March 20. The current contract expires on May 1.
Last week, the WGA membership voted 98.4% in favor of a “pattern of demands” for a new agreement, covering topics including compensation and residuals, pension planning and health funding, and professional standards and security in the employment of writers. The WGA said Tuesday that it plans to “significantly address writers’ compensation” during upcoming talks.
