Disney, CBS Corporation, General Electric (NBC/Universal), Time Warner (Warner Brothers and CW Network), News Corporation (Fox) and Viacom (Paramount and CW Network), these are the corporations who currently deny the stirking writers adequate and fair compensation. Their willingness to deny the writers what they need not only forces the writers to go on strike, but it hurts their families and all of the families of the people who are out of work during this period.

The strike started on November 5, 2007. It’s been almost two months. Have you successfully refrained from watching TV, going to movies, renting movies, watching streaming Internet content from the networks, and any other action that might support the networks in these two months? I hope so. Supporting the workers by refusing to participate in the Network’s business sends a powerful message of solidarity. Here are some other ways the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) is asking for your help.

Let’s think about this a little deeper and take a closer look at that list of companies. If the strike lasts a little longer, say 6 or more months, wouldn’t it makes sense to start putting pressure on the companies that are connected to the networks? For instance, GE doesn’t just own NBC, they also have companies in other industries like gas, oil, energy, and insurance. News Corp doesn’t only own Fox, they also own newspapers, magazines, book publishers, and of course, myspace.com. Time Warner owns book publishers, magazines, Internet Service Providers, AOL, ICQ, MapQuest.com, Winamp, the Atlanta Braves, Netscape, and partial ownership in Amazon.com. To see more companies owned by these media corporations, click here:

http://www.cjr.org/resources/

My point is, we have many choices when deciding how we want to put pressure on these huge companies so that they give the striking writers what they deserve. Remember, this isn’t just about writers. Rather, this is about all workers. This strike is about workers standing up to large corporations and demanding the security and compensation they deserve. Also, I’m not suggesting that we support the WGA blindly and without criticism. Instead, we need to support the workers by doing our part regardless of what the WGA formerly and officially says or does.

Let’s make a pledge to ourselves that if this strike continues until May 1, 2008, we will mark that day as the beginning of a general boycott against all the media conglomerates and the companies that are connected to them or support them via advertising. This means we will avoid purchasing their products, spending money in places where they advertise, and we will put pressure on others to do the same. Those of us who have unions in the companies connected to the media corporations can encourage our unions to go on strike on May 1, 2008. If the unions are locked into a contract with a ‘no strike’ clause or if a company does not have a union, we can encourage wildcat strikes or worker slowdowns leading to walkouts.

Since I’m the kind of person who hates to wait so long in order to take action, I’m going to start talking about this idea now. I’ll send my letters and emails to the media corporations now. I’ll start talking to my friends and family about this more general strike and boycott now. I’ll start gathering the information needed in order to convince other people in my area now. And if the WGA can’t or won’t call for such a strike/boycott, then those of us who support workers will.

This is one way we can work together in order to help people like the 300 people who might soon be laid off in my city. When asked why I care so much about the writers I say, “Because I care about workers.” Taking a stand in solidarity with workers and boycotting media corporations on May 1, 2008 could also be a large-scale starting point for a revival in community-based entertainment and information. This writer’s strike could end up being a catalyst for a general strike that would have a profound impact on U.S. society. Why not, right. The fire has to start somewhere.