Biden urges "fair deal" for striking Hollywood writers

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has reacted to the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood. During the White House screening of the upcoming streaming series 'American Born Chinese', Biden called for fair deal for writers who are on strike, Variety reported.

"Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and value they deserve," Biden stated. "I sincerely hope that the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved -- and the writers are given the fair deal they deserve, as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry. We need the writers -- and all the workers -- and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation. And the stories of all of us," he added.

The Writers Guild of America, East shared video of the President's comments on Monday evening. Biden was joined by "American Born Chinese" star Ke Huy Quan during the event, which was tied to the administration's celebration of Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began the strike last week, claiming they aren't paid fairly in the streaming era."Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal ... the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," said a statement from the union leadership. "They have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership."

The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of studio management, responded by saying it was willing to improve on its offer but was not willing to meet some of the union's demands."The primary sticking points are 'mandatory staffing,' and 'duration of employment' -- Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not," said the statement from management's negotiating committee. "Member companies remain united in their desire to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to writers and the health and longevity of the industry, and to avoid hardship to the thousands of employees who depend upon the industry for their livelihoods," it added.