Writers Guild, Students Protest BU President David Zaslav Amid Hollywood Strike

Dozens of striking TV and film writers, along with supporters of other unions in the region, demonstrated outside the opening of Boston University on Sunday, with the chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros. . Discovery, David Zaslav, as speaker. Graduate students protested with chants during the ceremony itself.

The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since the beginning of the month, demanding higher salaries, more money from streaming and guarantees around the use of artificial intelligence. They point out that leaders like Zaslav and other leaders of major studios TO DO tens of millions of dollars every year.

“I don’t have a paycheck, and instead of sitting at my typewriter, I’m holding up a sign and walking down Commonwealth Avenue,” Boston-based screenwriter Gary Wolf said as he was walking past BU’s Nickerson Field.

Above the head, a plane flew a banner that read: “David Zaslav – pay your writers.

Even though the protesters drowned out BU’s announcement system with their chants, they found support among parents and students.

Senior graduate Talia Havivi showed up in her debut red dress – but said she couldn’t cross the picket line to get to the ceremony.

“It’s completely against my code of ethics and I don’t have it in me,” she said. Havivi instead joined the protesters.

Maura O’Gara, from Quincy, was there to see her daughter graduate. She attended the event but said she supported the cause of the strikers.

“It’s a little uncomfortable, but I feel really comfortable with the process,” she said. “I am very happy that people can demonstrate peacefully.”

Inside, students booed as Zaslav received his honorary degree and heckled him throughout his 20-minute speech.

Zaslav, who graduated from the university’s law school in the mid-1980s, was a controversial choice. After the university announced that he would be the lecturer, the Writers Guild, as well as the BU Young Democratic Socialists of Americaand the BU Graduate Workers Union, demanded the university rescind the invitation and staged the protest.

University officials did not respond to a request for comment. But BU President Robert Brown previously told the Free daily press“It is not in accordance with our free speech policy to disinviting a speaker from showing support for a party in a labor dispute.”

More than 11,000 Writers Guild members have been on strike since early May; this is the first Hollywood strike in 15 years. The union says it is seeking better pay among other guarantees as the industry experiences a content boom due to streaming.

The Alliance of Film and Television Producers said it was offering generous pay increases for writers as well as streaming residuals improvements, The Associated Press reported. The alliance says it has offered the biggest pay rise for the first year in a WGA contract in more than 25 years.

In a statement after the event, Zaslav said: I am grateful to my alma mater, Boston University, for inviting me to be part of today’s start and for awarding me an honorary degree. , and, as I have often said, I am immensely supportive of the writers and hope that the strike will be resolved quickly and in a way that they believe recognizes their worth.

Editor’s note: Boston University holds the broadcast license for WBUR, which maintains editorial independence.

With additional reporting by Steven Senne of The Associated Press.

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