Before Fran Drescher, many progressive women led the entertainment unions, including Victoria Riskin and Meredith Stiehm for the Writers’ Guild. In mid-July, the actors’ union  SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and  Radio Artists) rejected the studios’ offer that didn’t address many  issues also on the WGA’s list. Advanced TV Herstory’s organic evolution has certainly been steered by the headlines of the last eight years. Like many in May, I monitored the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) decision to strike.

A  joint strike of both unions hadn’t happened since 1960 and today’s  issues are as monumental as the ones that formed the strike platform 63  years ago.

As a former union member from a union family who believes contracts and labor relations are important topics to bring to listeners. Highly visible struggles and work stoppages have a ripple effect to other industries. So understanding these unions’ power informs what we can expect in the future. Further, I am intrigued that there have been only two women WGA  presidents, Victoria Riskin and Meredith Stiehm. Seven women have led SAG or  AFTRA (pre-merger) and two since the organization merged.

Meredith Stiehm currently leads the 20,000 WGA members (east and west coasts). Fran Drescher has served 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members since 2021.

Stay tuned for our August episode.