Members of the Writers Guild of America are currently completing their week-long voting process to decide whether to ratify a tentative labor agreement with Hollywood studios. This agreement effectively ended the nearly five-month writers strike.
Voting began last Monday and will conclude at 1 p.m. Monday. The exact timing of the vote count and announcement of the results is still unknown.
The tentative three-year deal was announced on September 24 following five days of negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios.
On September 26, both the WGA East and West boards endorsed the deal, signaling their approval and allowing the WGA to officially end the strike that began on May 2. Writers were permitted to resume work while the ratification process unfolded.
“This end of the WGA strike allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval,” stated the WGA negotiating committee in a message to union members on September 26.
Although some writers have already returned to work, there are still others who are honoring the picket lines of the striking SAG-AFTRA actors’ union. The WGA negotiating committee has encouraged writers who can to continue supporting the striking actors.
Meanwhile, labor negotiations between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA are scheduled to continue on Monday after three sessions last week, which represented the first talks between the two sides since the actors went on strike in mid-July.
The proposed WGA deal includes gradual increases in minimum salaries: 5% upon ratification, 4% in May 2024, and 3.5% in May 2025. The agreement also includes enhancements to health and pension contributions.
Furthermore, the proposed contract contains limitations on the use of artificial intelligence by studios. This includes AI being prohibited from writing or rewriting literary material and AI-generated material not being considered source material, thereby protecting a writer’s credit.
Additionally, the proposal introduces a new residual formula for streaming programs that increases pay for highly successful shows. According to the guild, programs that are viewed by 20% or more of the service’s domestic subscribers in the first 90 days of release, or during subsequent exhibition years, will receive a bonus equal to 50% of the fixed domestic and foreign residual.
The contract also includes pay raises for writers working on TV series, along with employment guarantees for specific numbers of writers based on the number of episodes being produced.
A comprehensive summary of the contract proposal prepared by the WGA can be found online at wgacontract2023.org/the-campaign/summary-of-the-2023-wga-mba.
The WGA’s contract proposal is likely to serve as a template for certain issues during negotiations between the studios and SAG-AFTRA, although actors are seeking more substantial salary increases.
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