The Burbank, California police department is helping the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) silence striking writers by trying to prevent drivers from honking in support of strikers. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2 due to the AMPTP’s failure to negotiate a fair new contract for the union. These writers are merely asking for better job security and pay, especially since both components have taken a significant hit for writers in recent years. The rise of streaming has slashed writers’ residuals, and the growing popularity of mini-rooms erases opportunities for advancement, meaning that change is necessary for the TV/film writing industry.
However, greedy AMPTP studios have refused to negotiate with the WGA. It’s not that the studios are unable to meet the WGA’s demands, but that they don’t want to. After all, the total estimated costs of the WGA demands is $343 million split between all of the studios within the AMPTP. For the biggest studios in the AMPTP, like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix, it’s estimated the demands would cost them just 0.1% – 0.2% of their annual revenue. Unfortunately, the AMPTP doesn’t want writers to make a livable wage, resulting in the strike still going five months later.
One way that the WGA has been gaining support for its ongoing strike and attempting to sway studios to negotiate is through picketing. The union has set up picket lines outside studios which are enforced by striking workers and union reps. The WGA asked people not to cross the picket line in order to show solidarity with the strike. This tactic has effectively disrupted several productions and further pressured studios to agree to the strikers’ demands. However, the Burbank police are trying to interfere with the picketing efforts of these striking workers.
Apparently, honking in support of the WGA is illegal
Burbank is an important location for WGA strikers to picket, as it is the location of both the Walt Disney Studios and the Warner Bros. Discovery Studios. However, in late May, an electric sign was put outside the road leading to Warner Bros. Studios, and another in front of Disney Studios, warning drivers that “Excessive horn use violates 27001 CVC.” At first glance, one might think the sign is just a prank. Surely you can’t get into legal trouble for honking your car horn? But apparently, you can, especially if your honking is upsetting rich folks at work. The Burbank Police Department set up the sign to discourage drivers from honking in support of the WGA as they drove past prominent picketing locations.
Unfortunately, there is legislation to back the warning sign. A 1913 law in California bans the misuse of a car horn and has been used in the past to ticket people using their horns to participate in protests. The law has been challenged before but has been upheld as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the First and 14th Amendments don’t protect the right to honk your car horn. So of course, the Burbank police dug up this legislation to dissuade cars from honking in support of the WGA strikers. A spokesperson for the department claimed that they were receiving noise complaints and set up the signs to enforce compliance with 27001 CVC.
The police also claimed that the “noise levels” were “negatively impacting nearby residents.” It seems more likely that the complaints came from those within the studios than nearby residents. Additionally, making a ruckus and disturbing the peace are the exact intentions of the WGA. The whole point is to pressure these studios to listen. Unsurprisingly, the police have chosen to align themselves with the wealthy studio executives at Disney and Warner Bros. The Burbank PD is now ensuring these studios have a quiet place to work so they can continue to tune out the WGA.
As of late June, the signs were still up as Burbank police continued to silence striking workers even though they should be protecting their right to protest.
(featured image: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images)
