After almost five months, the end of the Writers Guild of America’s strike is in sight.
The WGA, which includes more than 11,000 Hollywood writers, has been on strike since May 2 after the union’s board of directors negotiated for six weeks with major studies like Amazon, Apple, Discovery, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner.
The WGA has argued that writers can’t afford to live under the current pay structure of the film and television industries. Even award-winning writers are unable to support themselves with their work. They demanded increased compensation, better residuals and higher staffing requirements, as well as protection from artificial intelligence.
Production of many major projects and TV shows was halted during the strike.
Television shows such as Stranger Things and Abbott Elementary were delayed, as were films like the Freaky Friday sequel and several Marvel installments. Talk shows such as The Jennifer Hudson Show, The Drew Barrymore Show and The Talk were also suspended. Some programs, like The View, chose to continue production without their union workers.
The WGA and Hollywood studios’ negotiations began in early August. They concluded in a stretch of closed-door meetings last week, which were attended by chief executives of the major film companies.
The WGA alerted its members on Sunday evening via email.
“We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the email read.
Although the details of the agreement were not revealed, the deal was deemed “exceptional with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
The WGA wrote, “To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then. We are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing.”
The Guild instead encouraged its members to join the picket line for the actors’ strike.
Even if writers return to work in the next few days, Hollywood is still on shutdown.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined the WGA on the picket lines on July 14, when they ordered their 160,000 members to halt their productions. The actors are on strike for similar reasons, seeking better pay and benefits and protection from AI.
Studios have not yet requested new meetings with SAG-AFTRA negotiators.
This has been the first concurrent strike between the actors and writers guilds since 1960. The strike has lasted 146 days, just eight days short of the WGA’s longest strike in history in 1988. The last WGA strike lasted 100 days from 2007-2008.
