Writers strike in Hollywood!

The wage debate is often a hot topic in the freelance writing community. Most of us believe that writers deserve professional wages, but not all of us can agree on what exactly that means. There is also some debate over what exactly we can do to improve our status: unionize, set a minimum wage for writers, etc.

The freelance community may still be divided, but screenwriters in Hollywood seem to have decided on a plan of action: They are striking, starting Monday. As a result, some TV shows will stick to reruns for now, and some could shut down completely if the strike goes on long enough.

Basically, the writers receive "residuals payments" when TV shows and movies go to DVD, but they don't feel they are getting enough. Also, they are not getting paid at all when their work is aired on the Internet.

While I don't know how much they get paid for DVD sales, and therefore cannot make my own decision as to whether it's enough, I can certainly understand the writers wanting to be paid for copies of their work that are posted or sold online.