OAN’s James Meyers
5:06 PM – Thursday, September 21, 2023
The Writers Guild of America West (WGA) union has spent thousands on fancy meals, travel expenses to Europe, and even donated to Democrats, while asking the public to give money to writers who are on strike, according to The New York Post.
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The report stated that the union spent $25,634 at a sushi-restaurant, $5,806 on an executives five-star Paris hotel, $6,600 on photographs, and paid its top executive more than $1 million in salary.
The union’s highest paid political contributions went to Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Between 2021 and 2023, it provided $107,000 to Democrat campaigns and committees.
The revealed spending comes after rumors of an imminent deal to end the strike were on the table, with union negotiators, bosses, broadcasters, studios, including Netflix and Disney meeting in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday.
However, when the union began their strike on May 2nd, they urged the public for help and thanked celebrities who donated to their fund.
The day before the strike began, union leaders spent thousands on meals at Hollywood restaurants, such as Tesse, where the leadership dropped $19,148 in undated “hospitality service,” according to its most recent filings with the Department of Labor.
Additionally, the group spent $17,814 at the Sixty SoHo Hotel in Manhattan for a “national conference” in 2022. The lavish hotel has hosted actors such as Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhall.
The WGA West’s executive director, David Young, also took home $1,098,907 in compensation, according to the union’s latest filings to the IRS.
According to more public filings, the union owns its own building in Los Angeles and has assets worth up to almost $100 million.
It has now been almost five months since the strike began, prompted by writers who demanded higher wages.
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By: OAN
