The event at the former was set to kick off at 6 p.m.
ET, while the packed meeting at the latter was set for 7 p.m. PT.
There was big applause from WGA members as the solidarity from otherguildsand unions like IATSE was brought up.
Cooper Union Foundation Building and The Shrine AuditoriumGetty
The entirelabormovement is behind us, one WGA leader told the crowd.
The White House is behind us.
We have to fight.
Picketers outside the WGA meeting in Manhattan
We have to keep fighting together.
Deadline spoke with some attendees at the Manhattan site before that meeting began.
Because you might see the limitations; you might see how your ideas actually come to life.
He said access to productions has become a huge hurdle for us.
It used to be that you would be paid to cover your episode on set, he said.
But those days have been over for a few years now.
What am I going to do to make money?
And we voted overwhelmingly yes because we know the importance of it.
Its asking a lot but its asking what we need: We need a fight.
So as hard as it is, its what needs to be done.
The last time the WGA went on strike in 2007-2008, the labor action went on for 100 days.
Writers were swift to show their support on Twitter.
The studios dont realize what theyre up against, he tweeted.
Eliza Clark, whose credits includeY: The Last ManandAnimal Kingdom,described the meeting as so inspiring.
I am fired up, she added.
I am so proud to be a member of this union.
The solidarity from our sister unions are making me feel teary and brave.
Meeting, he declared.
Left a truly energizing#WGAgathering tonight.
Hopped into a Lyft, where my driver, Maria, asked what Id been doing.
WGA meeting about the strike.
Without hesitating, she opens a box next to her and says, Pick a donut.
Dear reader, it was the perfect 10pm snack.
Tonight’s WGA Meeting at the Shrine was the most powerful and moving that I’ve ever experienced.
Leaders from every union in the industry offered their full-throated support.
It was, in a word, thrilling.#WGAStrong
Every.
Meeting.The companies are so fucked.
The studios dont realize what theyre up against.
