After 146 days of picketing, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached a tentative agreement between WGA and negotiators for Hollywood studios.
The WGA negotiation committee has referred to this agreement as “exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” in their negotiations update posted on the WGA On Strike website on Sunday.
The proposed three-year contract will need to be approved by the WGA’s negotiating committee and the board of directors for WGA’s eastern and western branches before it takes effect. Details on the contract are yet to be released.
“Though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last ‘i’ is dotted,” WGA members wrote in their statement on Sunday. WGA leadership will vote on Tuesday to finalize the pact, according to Variety.
However, writers have already started to celebrate. This long-awaited agreement is a testament to the “willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” as written by WGA’s negotiating committee to its members.
Screenwriter Caroline Renard expressed her relief in a tweet, saying “We got a deal. That was the hardest I’ve worked in forever. Captain signing off!” Writers are still on strike until further notice, but picketing has been suspended, according to the WGA.
“I know that our negotiating committee fought for what we wanted and what we rightfully deserved,” said Chiara D’Ambrosio, a sophomore screenwriting major. After being involved with the writer’s strikes, D’Ambrosio says she believes that “we will get a deal and will get an agreement that we all feel very good with.”
Writers and actors are now shifting their focus towards the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The union has supported WGA in seeking justice for writers and now strives to reach a similar agreement. On September 21, a writer’s demonstration was held in Culver City at Amazon Studios, where SAG-AFTRA members walked alongside WGA.
“That was actually one of the last strikes before the Writers Guild came to an agreement,” said Julia Conoscenti, a progressive degree student in PR and advertising and a member of SAG-AFTRA.
One of the concerns actors are voicing during this strike is the “looming threat” of AI, Conoscenti said. “SAG-AFTRA is on strike because they are petitioning for more pay,” she said. “There’s nothing in place or on paper kind of putting any restrictions on artificial intelligence. And so, they’re originally fighting for that, saying that if they were to use our image in AI and anything after they filmed, they had to get their permission, they had to pay them for it.”
According to Conoscenti, studios are paying actors for half a day’s work while gaining the rights to their image forever. Moreover, actors haven’t seen an increase in pay, despite the influence streaming platforms have over how much actors can receive from box office and theater attendance.
After bearing witness to the effects of strikes and collective action, both students mentioned that SAG-AFTRA members won’t stop speaking out until they reach solutions. The deal struck with the WGA has left Conoscenti feeling hopeful for the potential success of SAG-AFTRA’s strike.
“I know that the CEOs of Netflix and Amazon and all these big streaming platforms were in the meetings for the WGA,” she said. “So I’m hoping that the CEOs will also make themselves present for those SAG-AFTRA meetings.”
As a writer and actor, D’Ambrosio has participated in WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike efforts. After the WGA’s strides to seek justice for writers, D’Ambrosio says she is “still on strike as an actor.”
“I’m hoping that the AMPTP can come back to the negotiation table and see what we deserve. We were able to do that with the WGA, and next is SAG,” she said.
Conoscenti mentioned that ultimately, actors seek to receive proper compensation for their work in an effort to reclaim their art.
“There just needs to be a rule in place that if we are going to use your image and your voice to create AI, you get ‘x’ amount of money from that,” said Conoscenti. “Half a day’s pay and then having the rights to your image forever is just not going to cut it.”
“We fought for the creativity of this business, and we will continue to long after this strike is over,” D’Ambrosio said. “We’re going to keep going and we’re going to keep creating things that mean things to people.”