WGA March Kicks Off As Damon Lindelof & Boots Riley Heading To Rally
The WGA Strong March and Rally for a Fair Contract has kicked off in LA with thousands of members of the guild including Damon Lindelof and Boots Riley taking to the parks and streets.
Damon Lindelof (Deadline)
Mrs. Davis exec producer Lindelof and Riley, whose Amazon series I’m A Virgo, starring Jharrel Jerome comes out this week, were joined by WGA leadership including WGA West President Meredith Stiehm, former President David Goodman, Vice President Michele Mulroney, Secretary-Treasurer Betsy Thomas and WGA board member Liz Alper as the group assembled in Pan Pacific Park.
Stiehm told Deadline that the writers are “motivated”. “Showing solidarity and energy and fight on day 51 of the strike… We’re certainly making the best of it,” she said, adding that the WGA is “open every day” for the AMPTP to get back to the negotiating table.
The march will then head west along along 3rd Street, south on Fairfax, then east on 6th St to the La Brea Tar Pits, where there will be live music and several speakers.
Boots Riley (Deadline)
Riley, a founder of political hip hop group The Coup, will perform alongside I Need A Dollar singer Aloe Blacc at the event, which is hosted by WGAW Board & Negotiating Committee Member Adam Conover. Performances and speakers are expected to kick off around noon PT.
The WGA has been joined by a phalanx of other unions including SAG, the American Federation of Musicians and Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA).
Alex Aguilar, Business Manager for LiUNA! Local 724, told Deadline that solidarity was key.
“We have to continue to support one another… The unions have never been united in this way before. This is huge,” he said. “We need to show the employers how important it is that we stay united together in this fight for the men and women in the entertainment industry.”
Conover added, “Energy is high, we’ve got the same energy that we were bringing on day one, that’s why we’re going to win.”
Source: Deadline