There’s a story going around that the soap opera General Hospital hired writers temporarily during the ongoing writers strike. That word “temporary” is key. However, people are pointing out that these writers should be going by another word: scab.
Most headlines, however, are going with the phrase “temporary writers,” except us, of course, and The Verge, which calls them “scab writers.” The official definition of scab, in this case, is “a worker who accepts employment or replaces a union member during a strike.”
This is obviously frowned upon. Shannon Peace, a writer on the soap, announced the move in an Instagram post. “Starting next week, the show will be penned exclusively by scab writers, which is heartbreaking,” she said.
“We hate to see our characters and storylines handed over to ‘writers’ who cross the picket line,” she said, then clarified “But we’re also keenly aware that stopping production could spell the demise of soap operas.”
This is true. It’s a complicated situation when it comes to soap operas, which unlike most scripted shows air daily. Also, actors in soap operas are members of SAG-AFTRA, but work under a different contract than their fellow actors. Soap opera actors work under a contract called the National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting (Netcode), which oversees programs like news shows, reality shows, and game shows. That contract isn’t up for negotiation until next year, so actors on soaps are simultaneously crossing the picket line, but also not doing so.
“Hoping the AMPTP does the right thing soon — not just for writers, but for the integrity of storytelling,” Peace said.
The issue of scabs crossing the picket line was also trending on Twitter, or X, or whatever it’s called now.
The term goes back a long way, including this fun graphic and text by legendary fiction author Jack London.
The show must go on. We’ll keep you posted.
