The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike has come to an end after 148 days.

The strike was called off at 12:01 a.m. PT on Wednesday (Sept. 27) after the WGA negotiating committee, WGA West board and WGA East council unanimously voted to recommend the tentative agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to their members.

The tentative agreement was reached Monday (Sept. 25) following days of talks between the negotiating parties. WGA members will take part in a ratification vote from Oct. 2 to 9.

While WGA members are heading back to work, Canada’s screen sector remains heavily impacted by the ongoing Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, which began on July 14.

The WGA also published the details of the agreement, which the guild said includes “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every segment of the membership.”

The agreement includes a number of gains in compensation, including an increase in most minimums and a streaming residual structure based on viewership for high-budget programs on SVODs. It also establishes a weekly rate tier for writer-producers (considered co-producer or above), and minimum staffing levels for post-greenlight rooms based on the number of episodes ordered.

The WGA and the AMPTP also established regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Among the rules are that AI cannot “write or rewrite literary material” and any AI-generated works “can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.”

Additionally, companies must disclose if a writer has been given any AI-generated material; companies cannot require a writer to use AI software; and the guild “reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.”

Overall, the WGA estimates that the agreement with the AMPTP is valued at US$233 million per year.

Victoria Shen, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), said in a statement that the Canadian guild will “be looking very closely at the details of the deal” ahead of its negotiations with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) over its Independent Production Agreement (IPA), which will begin next month.

The current IPA was negotiated in 2019 and received an 18-month extension in 2022, which included an increase in minimum script fees. The IPA is set to expire on Dec. 31.

“We applaud the WGA for their strength and collective resolve throughout this strike,” said WGC president Alex Levine. “Screenwriters must be properly compensated for their invaluable creative labour.”

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