By Rivea Ruff ·Updated May 3, 2023
For the first time in 15 years, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has called an official strike.
The organization of unionized TV and film writers had been locked in six weeks’ worth of heated negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over setting new standards in their film and scripted TV contract, according to Deadline. However, once an agreement could not be reached, WGA voted unanimously to call its members to halt all writing work and join picket lines on each coast.
“Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal – and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains – the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the WGA said in a message sent directly to its members. “We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labor.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 02: Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) East hold signs as they walk on the picket-line outside of the Peacock NewFront on May 02, 2023 in New York City. WGA members were out on the first day of a Hollywood voters strike after the board of directors for the Writers Guild of America, which includes West Coast and East Coast branches, voted unanimously to call for a walkout. Negotiations between a top guild and a trade association that represents Hollywood’s top studios failed to avert the first walkout in more than 15 years. Union members have stated that they are not being paid fairly in the streaming era and are seeking pay increases and structural changes to the business model. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Disgruntled writers reportedly cite disproportionate work/pay balances as the crux of their frustrations. According to the Associated Press, WGA seeks higher minimum pay rates, increased writing staff per production, and shorter exclusive contracts, saying that conditions for writers have only worsened since the increase in streaming has caused a surge in scripted content, thus creating a “gig economy” within the unionized workforce.
With the strike effective Tuesday, May 2 at midnight, several shows have already been affected. Late-night television has been hit hardest, as they rely on their writers’ room to churn out up-to-the-minute comedy content that speaks to the timely news of the day and week. The Daily Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, SNL, and Late Night with Seth Myers have all gone dark asresult of the strikes. NBC and its late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers have agreed to cover partial wages for writers in the first weeks of the strike as a show of support, according to Variety.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the writers’ room for Abbott Elementary has also been cleared out in the wake of the strike, which could mean a truncated season 3 depending on how long the pickett lines persist.
Writers Guild of America members and supporters on a picket line outside a Peacock Newfront presentation in New York, US, on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Writers for some of the most popular shows on television are walking off the job, striking for higher pay amid rapid changes in the way people watch their programs and films. Photographer: Alex Kent/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The 2007-2008 writers strike lasted 100 days, arguably pushing reality television to the forefront of television entertainment as a result. Much like the current impasse, that strike was born of writers’ concerns for proper compensation as show episodes moved to new distribution platforms across digital platforms such as internet, iPods, and cellphones, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
TOPICS: screenwriter Writer’s Room writers
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