I Celebrated Star Trek Day by Joining the ‘Trek’ Family on the Picket Line

I grew up as a fan of Star Trek and it was completely out of my control. I’ve spoken before about my brother’s unconditional love for Trek, and how his favorite character is Spock. So I really had no hope in life. Luckily, the Kelvin-verse and Strange New Worlds have given me my own things to love and celebrate in the franchise. One thing is universal between both aspects of Trek in my life: It always taught me to do the right thing and fight for those who need it.

It’s one of the reasons why seeing the Star Trek casts on the picket lines together has meant so much to me. Seeing them stand up for a fair contract for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA is exactly what I would expect from the cast and crew of Star Trek, so what better way to celebrate Star Trek Day than to join them?

Organized by Jonathan Del Arco in Los Angeles and then brought to NYC by Dawn Ennis and the WGA, “United We Trek” was meant to celebrate Star Trek with fans and those who helped bring it to life. The picket event was specifically designed to bring writers, actors, and fans together to celebrate Star Trek Day in a way that creator Gene Roddenberry would love: Fighting back against the AMPTP.

Some of our favorite cast members from Star Trek came out to support the strike and talk to fans and their fellow creatives, and it was just a wonderful space to be in to celebrate the franchise. I even mustered up the courage to tell Ethan Peck how much I love his Spock and how I’m upset that because of the AMPTP, we didn’t get to celebrate his performance in season 2 as much as we should have.

This event is what makes being a fan of Star Trek so special (and why I love writing about it for The Mary Sue).

To boldly go…

I hadn’t been to a picket yet because I work during most of them. This one felt like the perfect reason to come in late to work. What better way to support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA than going to a themed picket for one of my favorite properties? Seeing the creativity in the signs from fans (mine said “Dammit Jim! I’m a writer, not A.I.” on one side and “To the AMPTP: That’s so sad. Alexa, play SABOTAGE by the Beastie Boys” on the other) as well as the cosplay and shirts just highlighted how much we all love Star Trek.

One thing the AMPTP can’t take away from us is our love for this franchise. Right now, they’re delaying everything with their greed. Strange New Worlds should be filming its third season, we should all be talking about Lower Decks with the cast and writers, and Discovery deserves to have a final season press tour. All of that can happen if the AMPTP just gives them a fair deal.

Going out and supporting the strikes is important in general, and it’s special when you can tie it into something you love—because the writers and actors deserve to know how much their work means to us and what this fight is all for. Celebrate Star Trek Day, but remember that without the writers and actors, we wouldn’t have a Starfleet to dream of joining.

(featured image: Rachel Leishman)