June 20, 2023
When Jeremy Bennie, a 2018 graduate of the University of Virginia’s School of Law, sat in professor Rip Verkerke’s Labor and Employment class as a first-year student in the spring of 2016, he considered it an interesting intellectual exercise – nothing more. Originally from Massachusetts, Bennie had plans to become a public defender after earning his J.D.
But life has a way of unfolding on its own terms, and five years after graduating, Bennie now finds himself monitoring Hollywood picket lines and de-escalating tensions that can flare as members of the Writers Guild of America – his employer – strike to protest declining pay and royalties in the digital streaming age. While the opposing sides are at an impasse, virtually all new television and movie productions have been put on hold.
“Working in the labor movement never really crossed my mind, so I definitely did not think that I would be here,” Bennie said from his home in Long Beach, California, which is within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean.
Working “here” means on studio lots outside major production companies, where celebrities and musicians, including Kerry Washington, Jason Sudeikis and Tom Morello, are showing up with doughnuts, pizza, signs and instruments to support and entertain the strikers.
“Our members aren’t really choosing to do this – they’re doing this because they have to stand up for themselves,” Bennie said. “The profession of...
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