The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached a tentative agreement that looks as if it will bring an end to the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Any deal will be closely followed here in Canada, where the industry has felt the impact of the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes at all levels of production and as the Writers Guild of Canada enters into its own negotiations with the Canadian Media Producers Association for the renewal of the Independent Production Agreement, which expires at the end of the year.
A statement from the WGA negotiating committee said the deal is agreed to in principle on all points, subject to final contract language, and said that it provides “meaningful gains and projections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
The statement did not reveal any details of the agreement, as the committee is still working to ensure that everything the two sides have agreed upon is codified in the final contract.
“To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the guild. We are still on strike until then. But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing. Instead, if you are able, we encourage you to join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines this week,” the statement reads, referring to the parallel, ongoing strike by the Hollywood actors’ union that began in July.
Once the memorandum of agreement between the WGA and AMPTP is complete, the guild’s negotiating committee will vote on whether to recommend the agreement and send it to the Writers Guild of America West Board and Writers Guild of America East Council for approval. The board and council will then vote on whether to authorize a contract ratification vote by the WGA membership.
If approved, the board and council will also vote on whether to lift the restraining order and end the strike at a date and time to be determined, pending ratification. This would allow writers to return to work without affecting membership’s right to make a final decision on contract approval.
“Immediately after those leadership votes, which are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday if the language is settled, we will provide a comprehensive summary of the deal points and the memorandum of agreement,” the negotiating committee statement continued. “We will also convene meetings where members will have the opportunity to learn more about and assess the deal before voting on ratification.”
Roughly 11,500 film and TV writers in the U.S. went on strike in May after negotiations on a new contract between the WGA and the AMPTP broke down. The key issue for the WGA was declining compensation amid the proliferation of streaming platforms, and its initial proposal to the AMPTP included calls for a minimum number of writers staffed per show and a minimum number of weeks of employment per season.
This was the first labour action by the writers’ union since the 100-day strike in 2007, which also effectively halted production on scripted film and TV. That strike led to a boom in the development, production and commissioning of unscripted television, and while many in the unscripted industry speculated about whether the same would happen during this current action, a similar result has failed to manifest over the course of the strike’s 147 days to date.
A version of this story originally appeared in Realscreen
With files from Taimur Sikander Mirza
Image: Unsplash