On the morning of Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 12:01 a.m. PT, following six weeks of negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (otherwise known as the “AMPTP”), members of the Writers Guild of America marched out onto the streets across the nation holding signs reading “WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA ON STRIKE!,” signifying the beginning of a long fight for writers, a shutdown of Hollywood, and the darkening of the future of the media we consume.
The Writers Guild of America, or the WGA, is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio and online media. Since its formation in 1933, the WGA has gone on strike a total of eight times, with the first in 1952 and the latest in 2023, with many of the protests the result of technological innovations that have threatened to overturn their established income sources and/or fundamentally alter the way Hollywood distributes entertainment. The WGA gave the AMPTP a deadline to address and amend these most current issues, which ultimately lead to the issuance of a strike order by the WGAW Board and WGAE Council.
Over the course of the following 148 days following the issuance of the strike order by the WGA, picket lines formed across the country, with over 11,500 members of the WGA marching around the institutions affiliated with the AMPTP demanding that Hollywood studios provide:
- Increased pay
- Better residual payments
- Mandatory staffing requirements
- Safeguards from AI
Following several failed attempts at reaching a collaborative resolution to the strikes, on Sept. 20, the WGA and AMPTP resumed negotiations once again after the AMPTP sent their “last, best and final” offer to the WGA negotiators. Culminating on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 union leadership voted unanimously on a deal that would last until May 2026, which included a five percent minimum pay increase immediately upon the ratification of the contract and ended the 148 day strike of the WGA.
However, while the writers of the WGA are no longer on strike, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or SAG-AFTRA , who’ve supported writers in their fight for better financial compensation and working conditions, are still on the picket lines. Following the expiration of their Producers SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming contracts on July 12, 2023, members of SAG-AFTRA went on strike on July 14, 2023 and has since continued to make their demands clear for a similar. Concerns regarding AI, Residuals, and employment. With the size of SAG-AFTRA being nearly 15 times the size of the WGA, it’s likely that they will continue to picket outside the studios, institutions and networks associated with the AMPTP with negotiations still in its early stages between the ranking company executives and union leaders.
As SAG-AFTRA continues with their fight to secure a fair contract, it’s important to note the effects these strikes could have globally in terms of international content in the production of films and/or soundstages as well as with the continued concern over AI and the possibility of hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs threatening to be replaced in nearly every industry. The use of technology like AI, erosion of job security, and assurance of fair compensation is something that resonates not only with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, but with workers in nearly every industry.
