Photo: Getty Images North America
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — There will be a Writers Guild of America picket line at Boston University's commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21.
The university recently announced its main commencement speaker will be Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, a BU alumnus. The decision was met with criticism from the WGA and BU student groups amid the ongoing writers strike. The guild warned BU that they will protest the ceremony should Zaslav be allowed to give an address.
On Thursday, the WGA officially announced, "The Writers Guild of America will picket Warner Bros. Discovery President & CEO David Zaslav at Boston University’s All-Student Commencement Exercises at Nickerson Field on Sunday, May 21, 2023, beginning at 12:00 p.m. EDT."
The WGA's first strike in 15 years began on May 2 when the guild failed to reach a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
WGA's leaders said talks broke off because the AMPTP refused to discuss many of the union's core issues, including pay increases, minimum staffing, duration of employment, establishing viewer-based streaming residuals, and the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts.
According to the WGA, Zaslav is one of eight Hollywood CEOs who collectively made more than $773 million in 2021.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App