David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, was met with boos and disapproving chants during his commencement speech at Boston University on Sunday.
The Writers Guild of America strike, which has seen 11,500 writers, including some employed by Warner Bros. Discovery, on strike since May 2 after failing to negotiate higher wages, was the reason behind the students' reaction. As soon as Zaslav was introduced at the ceremony, students in the crowd reacted with boos, and chants of "pay your writers, pay your writers," broke out as Zaslav was speaking.
Zaslav, who also received an honorary degree during his visit to BU, had previously expressed his opinion on the strike, clarifying that he is "not glad" that the strikes are still going on even if they opened up the door for companies to cut costs. The strikes are the first in 15 years and come after six weeks of failed negotiating.
The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO's pay in 2022 was $246,573,481, which ranked him the No. 1 overpaid CEO, according to shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. WGA strikers have a proposal on the table that asks for $47 million from the company, per an email sent out to its members. Across the industry, WGA negotiators are asking for a total of $429 million.
The WGA saw a near-unanimous vote, with 97.85% voting to strike ahead of negotiations.
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