Despite negotiations reopening between the WGA and the AMPTP, the double strike continues unabated. Patton Oswalt was picketing yesterday at Warner Bros., joined by his wife, Meredith Salenger, and his daughter, Alice. Credit to Alice for a great picket sign, Please put my dad back to work, he’s annoying! Also, I would like to draw attention to Patton’s huge straw hat. I, too, have entered my “giant sun hat” phase, it’s a lot of fun.
Also striking yesterday were Bob Odenkirk—who has been a regular presence at pickets since the writers’ strike began—and Alan Ruck. I know Ruck has a long career in Hollywood, and for many people, he will always be Cameron Frye first and foremost, but I feel like he is now best known for playing Connor Roy on Succession, and there’s just something inherently funny about seeing a Roy on the picket line defending workers’ rights. You know Logan hated unions!
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the picket lines next week, as Hurricane Hilary, currently listed as a category 3 storm, is bearing down on the west coast, and heavy rains are expected across Southern California and the American Southwest. That might be a nice break from the blistering heat recently, but swinging between the extremes of burning heat and torrential rain isn’t great, it’s a recipe for mud/landslides and flash flooding. Take care, everyone in the path of Hilary.
Finally, we close out This Week In Strikes with this note about the AMPTP and their “psychological warfare”.

This is totally unhinged. And in case you think it’s fake, it’s from Shaan Sharma, a member of the SAG-AFTRA board of directors and negotiating committee. It’s an excerpt from an open letter to SAG-AFTRA members (it starts at the 8:30 mark). Frankly, the “we’re the grownups, you’re the screwups” tenor of Sharma’s recollection echoes the AMPTP-side talking points about how actors and writers were being “unrealistic” in their demands (for fair labor conditions and compensation). Imagine treating labor negotiations like f-cking middle school. No wonder we’re in a double strike.