"Pay YOUR WRITERS" button from 2023 WGA strike
date: label: date made
content: 2023
name: label: Associated Name
content: Zaslav, David
label: Associated Name
content: Writers Guild of America
label: artist
content: McLaren, Jesse
label: maker
content: Wines, Shawn
notes: label: Description
content: Pinback button made for and used by participants in picket line demonstrations during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike of 2023. The button features a printed illustration of Warner-Discovery CEO David Zaslav with the phrase "Pay YOUR WRITERS" printed in black surrounding the drawing, all on a white field. The button was made by WGA member Shawn Wines to distribute to strike participants, and is based on an illustrated picket sign made by WGA member Jesse McLaren.
label: Description
content: In the Spring and Summer of 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike after collective bargaining negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down over issues including residual pay, use of artificial intelligence, and working conditions. The historic strike was the first instance of actors joining writers in striking since 1960, and brought the American entertainment industry to a near standstill of new production.
label: Description
content: The button illustration depicts Warner-Discovery CEO David Zaslav as he appeared, in academic gown, at the May 21, 2023 Boston University commencement exercises at Nickerson Field on the BU campus. One of the most visible entertainment company executives and target of WGA and SAG-AFTRA ire, Zaslav’s invitation to speak and receive an honorary degree at the commencement ceremony generated immediate controversy and pushback from WGA members. Wines recalled, “I think the news came out on the second day of our strike that Zaslav would be the commencement speaker. It felt particularly egregious given the timing and all the bad things that happened during the Warner-Discovery merger (not just to writers, but he also laid off thousands of workers and paid himself $246 million in one year).”
label: Description
content: At the commencement, Zaslav faced boos and chants from students expressing solidarity with striking WGA members that nearly drowned out his twenty minute speech. The chants included “We don’t want you here,” “Pay your writers,” and “Shut up, Zaslav,” all slogans drafted and distributed by demonstration organizers including the BU chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, WGA East, Boston DSA, and the Hollywood Labor subcommittee of the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles. Suggested chants were made available on Twitter and media reports suggested that students from BU’s College of Communications, which houses its film and TV program, and the College of Fine Arts began the chanting during the ceremony. Members of the WGA, Boston-area labor unions, and DSA also formed a picket line near Nickerson Field that drew around 350 participants. As the commencement exercises got underway, an airplane banner with the message “David Zaslav Pay Your Writers” could be seen flying above the picket and commencement exercises at Nickerson Field. In a media statement following the demonstration, WGA East representatives wrote “The message from students, writers, members of other unions and of the community is very clear: Zaslav and all of the company chiefs have to negotiate an agreement that addresses the very real challenges WGA members face, that make it possible for writers — and aspiring writers — to build and sustain careers creating the content that the companies rely on for revenue and profit.”
label: Description
content: The demonstration against Zaslav generated international news headlines and images and slogans from the commencement took on iconic status among strike participants, appearing on picket signs, shirts, and buttons as representative of the cause and solidarity expressed by students, unions, and allies. Jesse McLaren created this sign for use on picket lines at Disney, Netflix, and other locations across Los Angeles in the weeks following the Boston University commencement. Meanwhile, in an opinion piece published by the BU Today website, Boston University president Robert A. Brown argued that demonstrators had inappropriately targeted Zaslav, suggesting that “they were attempting to implement the cancel culture that has become all too prevalent on university campuses” by “shouting anonymously at each other, accomplishing nothing but feeling gratified for doing so, while generating material to post on social media,” and infringing on Zaslav’s freedom of speech.
label: Description
content: Shawn Wines is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and filmmaker who served as a strike captain in the Writers Guild of America West. A graduate of Columbia University’s film program, Wines has worked on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, As the World Turns, Rush Hour 3, Get Smart, and many other film and television productions. During the strike, Wines took part in numerous picket lines and other demonstrations, creating picket signs and pin-back buttons for union members from both WGA and SAG-AFTRA to use in strike actions. WGA member Jesse McLaren is a writer who has worked on the television programs Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Colbert Report, and the broadcast programs of the Academy Awards and Emmy Awards, as well as work for BuzzFeed and VICE Media.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
label: Associated Place
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
topic: label: Subject
content: Labor
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2023.0124.03
label: accession number
content: 2023.0124
label: catalog number
content: 2023.0124.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: button
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3/8 in x 2 3/8 in; .9525 cm x 6.0325 cm