The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative three-year agreement with Hollywood production studios, which if ratified, will put an end to the union’s near-five-month strike.
WGA Strike to Potentially End After Nearly 5 Months
The deal comes after union representatives met with several production company executives at the AMPTP offices in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday.
The strikes first started in May and intensified in July when SAG-AFTRA members joined the picket lines in July. The SAG-AFTRA strike remains ongoing.
According to the LA Times, “The proposed three-year contract, which would still have to be ratified by the union’s 11,500 members, would boost pay rates and residual payments for streaming shows and impose new rules surrounding the use of artificial intelligence.”
The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger had a seat at the table for the negotiations. Iger became a controversial figure throughout the strike, stealing headlines in mid-July after he described the labor actions as “very disturbing” and the demands of the striking workers as “not realistic.” He later backtracked a bit, stating on The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 2023 earnings call that he is “personally committed” to ending the strikes.
Deadline notes, “The first shows to shut down when the current WGA strike began on May 2 – late-night comedy shows and daytime talk shows – will be able to return to air almost immediately because SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing strike doesn’t include them as struck productions. Films and scripted TV shows that didn’t sign Interim Agreements with SAG-AFTRA will remain dark until that strike is settled as well.”
