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A dog walk with Adam Scott. Dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. An assist from Natasha Lyonne in completing the Sunday New York Times crossword — these are just some of the listings on eBay launched in the last few days to raise money for Hollywood workers affected by the strikes.
Who's behind it: The Union Solidarity Coalition is a group of more than 200 Hollywood actors, writers, producers and directors that formed during the early days of the Hollywood writers strike. They count folks like Ben Stiller, Lena Dunham, and Natasha Lyonne as members.
Why now: The Writers Guild of America has been picketing since May 2, joined by SAG-AFTRA members a month later. Both are fighting for protections from AI, better wages, and for a bigger piece of the pie from streaming revenue.
Go deeper: Writers Guild Says It’s Scheduling A Talk With Studios
A dog walk with Adam Scott. Dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. An assist from Natasha Lyonne in completing the Sunday New York Times crossword. Or how about an old-school Zoom session with Nicole Kidman and "The Farewell" filmmaker LuLu Wang?
These are just some of the fundraisers on eBay that The Union Solidarity Coalition (TUSC), a group of more than 200 Hollywood actors, writers, producers and directors, have organized in the last few days to boost unity and to raise funds for Hollywood workers affected by the strikes.
The Writers Guild of America has been picketing since May 2, joined by SAG-AFTRA members a month later. Both are fighting for protections from AI, better wages, and for a bigger piece of the pie from streaming revenue.
“The focus on solidarity really came right at the beginning of the WGA strike when we knew that the AMPTP’s decision to not engage with us and the subsequent work stoppage was going to financially affect every single person in this industry,” actor and TUSC member Andrea Savage said.
Savage said TUSC formed early in the writer’s strike to find ways to help struggling Hollywood frontline workers, as well as to facilitate communications among the different unions.
With people like Lena Dunham, Natasha Lyonne and Ben Stiller as fellow members, it struck Savage and others that they were sitting on an untapped gold mine.
“I think the relationships we have and our ability to find people to help with what we're good or not good at is a thing that we all do when we're working,” said Susanna Fogel, another TUSC member and a showrunner. “And we all have a lot of energy to burn.”
To that end, Savage hit up her friend Adam Scott for help. The Severance and Parks and Recreation actor suggested a dog walk.
Savage was all for it, and suggested that the dog walk be 20 minutes.
“‘That sounds stingy!’” Savage remembered Scott saying. “I was like, ‘I'm trying to protect you!’ And he was like, ‘Couldn't I raise more money if I do it longer?’”
So now the auction is for a dog walk with Scott for an hour – currently going for thousands of dollars, with still days to go. And there are more than 40 similar auctions TUSC has put up, with the help of the online auction group Matchfire Auctions. So far, the collective has raised more than $400,000 through the listings and other events.
Fundraising is just one part of TUSC’s mission. Morale now is even worse than when COVID-19 shut down swaths of the industry and threatened their careers.
But it’s the thought of returning to work in a stronger community that keeps the group going. And TUSC’s isn’t going away anytime soon, with the current contracts of IATSE and Teamsters members ending in a year.
“We see an ongoing need to help provide assistance to the workforce,” said screenwriter and TUSC member Liz Benjamin. “Sort of plugging up the holes, fulfilling needs that no one else is doing.”
