May 1st Deadline Looms Large As New Agreement Between WGA And AMPTP Remains Absent
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Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have been ongoing since late March. It is now mid-April and an agreement has not been reached yet, causing the talk of a strike to become more real. The WGA has gone on strike six times before, the most recent time being a 14-week strike in late 2007-2008.
Members of the WGA have been asked to vote on strike authorization. It is essentially a way to gauge willingness to strike if an agreement is not reached by the deadline. Voting started on April 11th and will remain open until April 17th. If a strike happens, the effects on the industry will likely be reminiscent of the 2007 strike. A delayed reaction in content could come, projects in post-production would stay on schedule but upcoming ones would be stalled, halted indefinitely, or shortened overall.
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On March 7th, a list of objectives for the negotiations was released. The main goals of the WGA include a significant base compensation increase, residual pay increase, increased compensation to the Health Fund and Pension Plan, and increased protections for writers. A more detailed list can be found here. The transition to streaming services has led to drastic changes and undercuts to the compensation of writers, from fewer episodes per season to extended production times where they aren’t involved; they are trying to address these issues and more.
A strike cannot occur until after the deadline of May 1st, which is rapidly approaching. Should the outcome of their vote be in favor of a strike if no resolution is met, the WGA has a fund together to support the writers. The Directors Guild of America’s negotiations begin in mid-May as well, which will add further pressure to the AMPTP for resolution.
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