The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike officially ends after 148 days, once The union’s leadership voted unanimously this Tuesday to recommend to its membership the tentative agreement for a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP).
In a press release, the Board of the Writers Guild of the West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of the East (WGAE) also indicated that they voted to lift the strike order promptly at 12:01 am PT/03:01 am ET on Wednesday, September 27. This will allow the writers to return to work starting tomorrow during the ratification process, without affecting their right to make a final decision on contract approval.
It was after May 2 when the more than 11,000 screenwriters of the union went on strike. With the industry essentially shut down for nearly five months, the economic impact for Hollywood is estimated at losses of up to $5 billion. Finally, on Sunday, September 25, the WGA announced that they had reached a provisional agreement with the studios and platforms of streaming.
What kind of agreement did the writers reach with the Hollywood studios to end the strike?
The WGA also released the full 94-page contract. The agreement addresses all the issues that the writers considered fundamental, such as security barriers against the use of AI, royalties and the transparency of data in streaming. Here is a summary of the most important achievements:
Salary increase
In terms of minimum salaries, the WGA got the same pay increases as the Directors Guild (DGA) last June. They are annual salary increases of 5%, 4% and 3.5% throughout the term of the contract. That’s a 13.5% salary increase over the three years.
However, the union notes that “some minimums and rates increase less, mainly by 3% each year, while some rates increase only once or do not increase over the contract. These exceptions are the result of established industry patterns.”
The union also obtained an increase in the employer’s contribution to its health fund, based on reportable income, of 0.5% percent in the second year of the contract (going from 11.5% to 12%).
A minimum of staff in the writers’ rooms
Although it was a thorny point of debate even among members of the guild, the studios were able to agree to a minimum number and a minimum hiring time of the writers’ rooms.
The tentative agreement calls for a minimum staff of three writers/producers for all series, a number that may include showrunner. Additionally, the number of writers in the staff It will depend on the number of episodes ordered. For 6 episodes, the hiring of three writers is required; Series that have between 7 and 12 episodes per season have to hire five scriptwriters; and series of 13 episodes or more must hire six writers. For subsequent seasons, the minimum number required will be determined based on episode pre-order.
Regarding the hiring time, the scriptwriters will have their payment guaranteed in development rooms for at least 10 consecutive weeks. In rooms after receiving the green light, they must guarantee 20 weeks of work or the entire duration of the room.
These terms will apply to seasons whose first episode is written after December 1, 2023, meaning pre-existing shows do not have to meet theater size or length requirements.
Streaming and royalties
The studios agree to provide the guild, subject to a confidentiality agreement, the total number of hours broadcast, both nationally and internationally, of television programs. streaming own high-budget production. It is worth mentioning that most of the original series on the main platforms in the US reach the “high budget” threshold.
WGA also negotiated a new bonus for writers for the audience of its original series and films for streaming. However, that also means that older series not produced for platforms do not qualify for the bonus, such as Friends either Suits.
Those productions that are seen by 20% or more of the service’s subscribers in the US during the first 90 days of their premiere, or in the first 90 days of any subsequent year of exhibition, obtain a bonus equivalent to 50% of domestic and foreign fixed royalties, with views calculated as nationally broadcast hours of the season or films divided by the duration. This would translate into bonuses starting January 1, 2024 such as $9,031 for a half-hour episode, $16,415 for a one-hour episode, or $40,500 for a film with a budget of more than $30 million.
For their part, the royalties from streaming abroad will now be calculated based on the number of foreign subscribers of the streaming, representing a 76% increase in the bonus for services with the largest global subscriber bases over those three years. For example, Netflix’s three-year foreign residual will increase from $18,684 for a one-hour episode to $32,830.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
WGA has established the following regulations for the use of artificial intelligence:
- AI cannot write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material, so AI-generated material cannot be used to undermine a screenwriter’s credit or separate rights.
- A screenwriter may choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and as long as the writer follows the company’s applicable policies. On the other hand, the company cannot require them to use AI software when performing writing services.
- The company must disclose to the writer if any material delivered to the writer has been generated by AI or incorporates AI-generated material.
- WGA reserves the right to confirm that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by this contract or other laws.
The vote to ratify the new contract by all members of the Writers’ Union will take place from October 2 to 9. The validity of the contract would be from September 25, 2023 to May 1, 2026. You can read the full document HERE.