Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
WGA members return their signs at the end of the first day of their strike in front of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on May 2, 2023.
CNN
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Writers Guild of America union members have agreed to a new contract with Hollywood and television studios, the WGA said in a statement released Monday.
Of the 8,525 valid votes cast, 99% of WGA members voted to ratify the new contract, which runs from Sept. 25, 2023, to May 1, 2026, the release said.
“Through unity and commitment, we have ratified an agreement with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” said WGA West President Meredith Stiehm. “Together we have been able to achieve what many people said was impossible just six months ago.”
WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance must now negotiate a fairer contract with the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which has been on strike since July.
“Until the studios reach an agreement that addresses artists’ needs, WGA members will continue to picket, walk side by side with SAG-AFTRA in solidarity,” he said.
In a statement, AMPTP said the new deal represents “meaningful gains” for Hollywood’s writers.
“AMPTP member companies congratulate the WGA on its approval of its new contract, which represents meaningful gains and protections for writers. Getting writers back to work is an important step forward for our industry,” the organization said.
As part of the deal, the minimum wage for most writers will increase by 5% immediately, another 4% in May 2024 and another 3.5% in May 2025. Health fund contributions will increase by half a percentage point to 12% of companies’ reportable revenue. . Writers working on the same script no longer have to separate pension and health contributions.
Some writers worry about the growth of streaming because they lost the residuals paid for when traditional TV shows were reruns. Part of the new deal includes increased initial compensation and residual pay for big-budget streaming projects.
The agreement also includes a guarantee that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material and that AI-generated material must be disclosed to authors.
Streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Max have also pledged to increase transparency about how many hours specific programs are streamed.
The approval of a new employment contract between the WGA and Hollywood’s biggest studios officially closes a chapter in one of the longest strikes in union history. The writers’ strike began in May Finished last month – After 148 days – following the provisional contract agreement entered into between the union and AMPTP.
The writers’ strike, along with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, have affected the entertainment industry’s ability to do business over the past few months. This is the first time that SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have gone on strike together since 1960.
