Before Hollywood writers walked off the job in early May, Pam Elyea's prop house History for Hire filled an average of 53 requests per week for everything from period-appropriate cameras and luggage to camping gear and snow globes.

Weekly orders this year now average 26 as the strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) halted many film and TV productions, Elyea said. She estimates the revenue of the company, which she runs with her husband, has dropped 60% and it is falling $100,000 short of meeting monthly expenses.

President Joe Biden loves to talk about unions, yet that relationship will be tested as he's tasked with averting a union-led strike that could cripple the U.S. economy by the end of the summer.

On the same day Biden was endorsed historically early by a group of 17 unions, UPS workers voted by a 97% margin to authorize a strike.

Every once in a while, reporters see a few successful unionization drives in the US, like at Starbucks or Amazon, and conclude that the US is in the midst of a labor union resurgence, that unions are “booming,” or that they’re “suddenly and rapidly rebounding.”

Thousands of UPS workers across the nation will vote this week to decide whether to strike if their union could not reach a contract with UPS management.

Millions of Americans rely on UPS for their delivery service. A potential strike would bring the world's biggest package courier to a standstill, severely upending the U.S. supply chain.

The UPS employees are demanding less overtime, air conditioning in delivery trucks and changes to pay scales.

West Coast ports are shutting down as union workers “no show” after a breakdown in negotiations with port management.

The Port of Oakland was shut down Friday morning due to insufficient labor for terminal operations, a stoppage that is expected to last at least through Saturday. A source close to the situation told CNBC the port shutdowns are expected to spread across the West Coast as a result of lack of sufficient labor as workers protest over wage negotiations in contract talks with port management.

Students at Boston University chanted "pay your writers" as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav gave the commencement address at the institution's graduation Sunday, amid a writers' strike that has been impacting the television and film industry.



Zaslav graduated from BU's law school in 1985 and was being given an honorary degree. On Sunday, he told students how important it is to be respectful and kind. But he paused several times as some students booed, chanted and turned their backs.

Should a picture be worth a thousand times more than the words? We interviewed three striking Hollywood writers – a newcomer, a mid-career writer, and a veteran – about their tribulations and triumphs.

Across Hollywood, the picket line for writers looks quite similar. Wearing blue Writers Guild of America T-shirts and carrying signs affixed to stakes, the strikers walk a circuit past the gates of each studio. Then they loop back in the opposite direction. At Fox Studios, one writer carries a sign that says, “I’m getting my 10,000 steps in.” 

What if I offered you a retroactive 10% pay raise covering this year, a $5,000 signing bonus, and a 22% pay raise starting next year?

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

It’s not enough for the Oakland Education Association, the teachers union in Oakland, California, however. In addition to extremely generous financial concessions, the OEA is also demanding “common good” goals be included in the union contract, including measures on climate change, shared governance with the school board, and reparations for black students.

As the Writers Guild of America strike continues into its third day, the jokes aren't on late night TV anymore — they're on the picket lines.

More than 11,000 movie and television writers have stopped working after contract negotiations stalled out between their union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade association that represents Hollywood's studios and production companies.

Hollywood writers and the film and television studios are racing to agree to a new contract to replace the one that expires at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time Monday. If they fail to reach a deal, a strike could begin as soon as Tuesday.

Why is the Writers Guild of America threatening a strike?

The writers argue that they have been negatively impacted by streaming, saying they are working more for less money. They're seeking better compensation for their work on film, television and streaming shows, and residual payments that reward writers when a show becomes a hit.