Struggling Stage Workers Demand End to Writers' Strike

Rank-and-file production workers marched through downtown Hollywood yesterday calling on the Writers Guild of America and the producers association to end the five-week strike. The group focused attention on the plights of those put out of work by the strike. Set decorators, hair and make-up artists, prop specialists and hundreds of others have lost their jobs because the strike has halted film and TV productions.

"Each day this strike is prolonged, our futures become more precarious," said a rally organizer. As more layoffs hit, many in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are beginning to sour on the strike, despite initially supporting it. "I don't believe the union ever intended to bargain in good faith," said a spokesman for the stage workers. (More Hollywood writers' strike stories.)