- The WGA has ended its strike on Hollywood
- The strike loomed for most of this year
- THESE are the details of the agreement
It was welcome news for all who work in the entertainment industry. It’s officially over: The Writers Guild of America has ratified the three-year contract deal that ended the second-longest strike in the union’s history. "Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership," said WGAW president Meredith Stiehm.
"Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago. We would not have been able to achieve this industry-changing contract without WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, negotiating committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, the entire WGA negotiating committee, strike captains, lot coordinators, and the staff that supported every part of the negotiation and strike."
And with that, it's back to the job
"There were 8,435 ‘yes’ votes and 90 ‘no’ votes," the guild announced in an email sent to members. The deal bring with it major strides for scribes in terms of A.I. guardrails, residuals, writers room staffing, and data transparency, as well as pay hikes, the now sealed deal runs from September 25, 2023 to May 31, 2026. So, everyone is happy here. The WGA went out on its first strike in 15-years on May 2 as its last contract with the studios and streamers expired. Picket lines went up all over NYC and LA and elsewhere in the USA, but the two sides did not speak officially for over 100 days.
Starting on September 20, after a studio fumbled restart in August, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Disney’s Bob Iger finally sat down directly with WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, as well as former guild presidents David Goodman and Chris Keyser and other members of the WGA Negotiating Committee in hopes of a breakthrough.
On September 26, two days after that breakthrough deal was achieved, the WGA West Board and WGA East Council both voted unanimously to recommend the agreement to their members and sent it out for a vote. At the same time, WGAW President Meredith Stiehm and WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi told members that they "strongly endorse this proposed contract and encourage you to vote for its ratification."
SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals around the world still remains firmly on the picket lines, although the guild is currently in negotiations with studios. The actors union began a strike on July 14 after failing to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of the major studios. SAG-AFTRA is fighting for more protection surrounding the role of artificial intelligence in media and entertainment in addition to better pay and higher streaming residuals as more movies and TV shows go directly to streaming.
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That's a no, no!
"Now it’s time for the AMPTP to put the rest of the town back to work by negotiating a fair contract with our SAG-AFTRA siblings, who have supported writers throughout our negotiations," WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. "Until the studios make a deal that addresses the needs of performers, WGA members will be on the picket lines, walking side-by-side with SAG-AFTRA in solidarity."
There's still a fight to be had!
So it's not quite over yet. This all means that productions like reality shows can get back to work. But actors are still on ice for the time being, so any dramatic productions will be on hiatus for the foreseeable future.
In a statement of their own, the Carol Lombardini-led AMPTP took a more measured response to today’s ratification vote. "The AMPTP member companies congratulate the WGA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents meaningful gains and protections for writers," the studio and streamers’ representing group said.
On the other hand, "SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on the overwhelming ratification of their new contract," the actors guild exclaimed in a statement as they conducted their own talks today with the AMPTP. "We salute the WGA negotiators, leadership and members for their fortitude and dedication. Onward!"
Let's wait and see if they ever strike their own deal too! When asked by 'THR' in September what he wished would be the 2023 negotiations’ lasting legacy, WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser responded with, "This was a moment, as people have said, of labor power where labor said, ‘We are no longer OK with being ignored.’"
