Yahoo Finance Hollywood writers ratify deal with studios to officially end historic strike
Hollywood writers overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year agreement with studios, officially ending a strike that lasted nearly 150 days before a deal was reached in late September.
Ninety-nine percent of Writers Guild of America (WGA) members voted to ratify the contract with 8,435 "yes" votes and just 90 "no" votes, or 1% of total members, the union said late Monday. The terms of the new agreement will run from Sept. 25, 2023, through May 1, 2026.
"Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” WGA West president Meredith Stiehm said in a statement. “Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago."
The guild was successful in achieving many of its demands, which included increased regulations surrounding the use of artificial intelligence, minimum staffing requirements, viewership-based streaming bonuses, more data transparency, higher health and pension contribution rates, a boost to streaming residuals, and more.
The guild was also able to achieve a 5% wage increase this year, which will be followed by a 4% jump in 2024 and a 3.5% boost in 2025.
SAG-AFTRA — the union that represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, and other media professionals around the world — still remains firmly on the picket lines, although the guild is currently in negotiations with studios.
The actors union began a strike on July 14 after failing to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which bargains on behalf of the major studios including Warner Bros. (WBD), Disney (DIS), Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), Paramount (PARA), and Sony (SONY).
Similarly to the writers, SAG-AFTRA is fighting for more protections surrounding the role of artificial intelligence in media and entertainment in addition to better pay and higher streaming residuals as more movies and TV shows go directly to streaming.
"Now it’s time for the AMPTP to put the rest of the town back to work by negotiating a fair contract with our SAG-AFTRA siblings, who have supported writers throughout our negotiations," WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. "Until the studios make a deal that addresses the needs of performers, WGA members will be on the picket lines, walking side-by-side with SAG-AFTRA in solidarity."
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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