The SAG-AFTRA and WGA labor disputes of 2023 put tens of thousands of people out of work for more than half the year, but the psychological impact was as great as the economic one. The ripple effects continue to reverberate through all of entertainment
Artwork by Alexis Chivir-ter Tsegba
By Sharon Waxman
The labor actions of 2023 were a once-in-a-lifetime event. For eight months, the entertainment industry ground to a halt as the lifeblood of entertainment content—the writers—and the faces of movies and television—the actors—left the playing field and instead picked up picket signs.
It had been decades since management faced off with the creative community, and it was ugly.