Hollywood writers’ strike nears end as the Writers Guild reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the five-month strike.
Negotiators from both camps reached a new three-year deal, finalizing the framework surrounding AI protections and writing room staffing levels on Sunday. The agreement comes after five days of continuous back and forth between the two unions.
“The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement,” the WGA and the AMPTP said in a joint statement this evening.
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The SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee congratulates the WGA Negotiating Committee.
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To our fellow union siblings who serve on the WGA Negotiating Committee, we extend our heartfelt congratulations on securing a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/ZfeGOrmQ4C
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) September 25, 2023
According to Variety, the fourth day of negotiations involved lawyers for the guild and AMPTP negotiating the fine print around “complicated and groundbreaking additions to the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement.” Details surrounding the use of generative AI in content production was reportedly one of the last items that both sides discussed before closing out the deal.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the WGA’s negotiating committee wrote in an email sent to members last night. “It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”
The WGA announced that while picketing has been suspended, the strike remains ongoing and “no one is to return to work until specifically authorized.” The union encouraged writers to join actors this week on the SAG-AFTRA picket lines.
The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement. This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who stood with us for over 146 days. More details coming after contract language is finalized. #WGAStrike pic.twitter.com/GBg2wZBwGB
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) September 25, 2023
Both Hollywood strikes have resulted in a more than $5 billion nationwide impact, the disruption of 11 major productions and a loss of $1.3 billion and 17,000 job cuts, according to Empire State Development.
Before the strike officially ends, the WGA’s board and members must vote to approve the deal.
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