The Writers Guild of America, consisting of 11,500 members, will begin voting on Monday to ratify a potential labor deal with Hollywood studios, effectively ending the nearly five-month writers’ strike. The agreement was announced on September 24 after five days of negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The deal has received endorsement from both the WGA’s East and West coast branches, paving the way for the ratification vote, scheduled to take place from Monday through October 9.
With the backing of the union boards, the WGA officially ended the strike on Wednesday, allowing writers to resume work. However, this does not affect the membership’s right to make a final decision on the contract approval. The Writers Guild of America negotiating committee sent a message to union members stating that there would be meetings for current members before the ratification vote begins.
While some writers have already returned to work, late-night talk shows are gradually resuming with new episodes. However, some writers are still supporting the picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union. The WGA negotiating committee encourages writers who can to continue supporting the striking actors.
Labor talks between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA are set to resume on Monday, marking the first negotiations between the sides since the actors went on strike in July.
The WGA has proposed a three-year contract agreement with the AMPTP, consisting of stepped increases in minimum salaries. Upon ratification, salaries will increase by 5%, followed by 4% in May 2024 and 3.5% in May 2025. The proposed agreement also includes improvements in health and pension contributions.
Furthermore, the proposed contract imposes restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence by studios. AI is prohibited from writing or rewriting literary material and AI-generated content cannot be considered as source material, ensuring that it does not undermine a writer’s credit.
The proposal also introduces a new residual formula for streaming programs, increasing pay for highly successful shows or films. If a program is viewed by 20% or more of a streaming service’s domestic subscribers within the first 90 days of release or subsequent exhibition years, it receives a bonus equal to 50% of the fixed domestic and foreign residual. Views are calculated based on hours streamed domestically divided by runtime.
Additionally, the contract includes higher pay for TV series writers and employment guarantees for a set number of writers based on the number of episodes being produced.
A comprehensive summary of the contract proposal prepared by the WGA can be found at wgacontract2023.org/the-campaign/summary-of-the-2023-wga-mba.
The writers’ union contract proposal may serve as a template for negotiations between the studios and SAG-AFTRA, although actors are seeking higher salary increases. The AMPTP has previously reached a contract agreement with the Directors Guild of America.
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