WGA and AMPTP Agreement Ends 146-Day Hollywood Strike

A three-year deal between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended the 146-day strike that the WGA initiated.

Negotiations engaged by committees from both sides worked to create the agreement. The drafting went on for five days and concluded on Sunday, September 24.

Details of the agreement remain confidential until the fine print is finalised on Tuesday. However, in an email to the members, WGA leaders said that the deal is historic for the significant protections and gains Hollywood screenwriters will have from producers when work ultimately resumes.

A successful strike

WGA leaders will meet once more on Tuesday, September 26, to decide whether the agreement is enough to have them lift the strike. The movement has substantially disrupted media content production from major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms since it started last May 2, 2023, just after the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement expired three years ago.

Members of the WGA wanted to negotiate better yields and conditions for their work when contracted for services by the AMPTP. Among these was wider coverage of a new MBA which would also reach writing staff for shows in streaming platforms, since the MBA only covered broadcast television. The guild has also strongly advocated for the AMPTP to cover the pension and health care for every member of a production's writing staff.

While the strike is still ongoing, pickets have since been suspended as of Sunday. Leaders of the WGA credit the successful negotiations to the strong solidarity and activism of its members. Through the combined efforts of labourers from the WGA East and West and their strike captains, the organised pickets have suspended work from production studios from both ends of the coasts throughout the movement.

The WGA also received significant support from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, who have also been on an ongoing strike since July 14, 2023. This has been the longest strike that the WGA has held since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Writer's Strike of 1988, which lasted for 153 days.

Solidarity among artists

Members of the WGA requested that they only resume their work once the SAG-AFTRA concludes their negotiations with the AMPTP as well. SAG-AFTRA went on strike last July 14, 2023, to dispute unfair and outdated labour practices imposed by the AMPTP.

Both strikes addressed a series of labour issues across Hollywood. Both guilds have been lobbying for better revenue-based residual rates for television broadcast and streaming platform media. Members also want producers to recognise AI like ChatGPT as a tool that writers and actors can use, and not to replace their work entirely.

SAG-AFTRA congratulated their scribe colleagues for the resiliency they have shown during the strike and ultimately, the successful creation of the tentative agreement with the AMPTP. The Directors Guild of America also celebrates the WGA's success, stating that the AMPTP should also follow up with concluding the SAG-AFTRA negotiations.

Since the strikes began, weekly late-night comedy shows and daytime talk show productions came to a complete halt. While the existence of the tentative agreement is seen to end the strike, there is still no guarantee that work will continue immediately.