Mario Anzuoni/Portal
SAG-AFTRA actors and writers from the Writers Guild of America walk the picket lines during their strike outside the Netflix offices in Los Angeles earlier this month.
CNN –
The Hollywood writers’ strike is finally over after 148 days.
Writers Guild of America leaders voted unanimously to allow their members to return to work after a tentative agreement was reached Sunday between union negotiators and Hollywood’s studios and streaming services, ending the months-long strike that has crippled the industry , has effectively ended.
“The WGAW Board of Directors and the WGAE Council also voted to lift the injunction and end the strike on Wednesday, September 27 at 12:01 a.m. PT/3:01 a.m. ET. This allows authors to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final decision on treaty approval,” the WGA wrote online.
The tentative agreement, reached earlier this week, represents a turning point for Hollywood’s film and television studios after both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, went on strike this summer to demand higher wages and protection against artificial intelligence.
The contract, which expires in May 2026, includes salary increases, better benefits, protections against studios’ use of artificial intelligence, streaming compensation guarantees, longer terms of employment and other benefits.
Most writers’ minimum wage will increase by 5% immediately, another 4% in May 2024, and another 3.5% in May 2025. Health insurance contributions will be increased by half a percentage point to 12% of companies’ reportable profits. And writers working on the same script no longer have to split pension and health insurance contributions.
The authors were particularly concerned about the growth of streaming as they miss out on residual amounts that traditional television shows paid on rerun.
For large streaming projects, namely full-length productions with a budget of at least $30 million, the minimum writer compensation for a story and a teleplay will be increased by 18% to $100,000. The remaining minimum wages for big-budget streaming productions will be increased by more than a quarter. And other residuals for video-on-demand services earn creators a 50% bonus if shows are seen by a fifth of domestic subscribers in the first three months of a project’s lifespan. That means writers could take home more than $9,000 for a half-hour episode and more than $16,000 for a one-hour episode on big-budget productions from top providers.
These services, such as Netflix, Disney+ and Max, also committed to increasing transparency about how many hours certain programs were streamed.
A WGA summary of the agreement included AI protections. “AI cannot write or rewrite literary material,” says the summary, which also notes that AI-generated materials must be disclosed to authors.
The agreement also addressed streaming residuals and transparency for data surrounding streaming. The rise of Netflix and other similar services has helped transform Hollywood over the years and has become a major issue in writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Although union leadership has allowed union members to return to work, their contracts with the studios have not yet been officially ratified, meaning union members could still reject the terms of the agreement, potentially extending a historic strike that has left many Parts of the US entertainment industry have been paralyzed.
A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said in a statement about its own negotiations that the union is “reviewing the WGA’s tentative agreement and is committed to reaching a fair and equitable deal for our members.”
“We continue to strike regarding our TV/cinema/streaming contract and will inform our members when there is any news regarding the negotiations. We will not speculate on the timeline or next steps,” the spokesperson said.
The union said: “Voters will be able to vote from October 2nd to 9th and will receive ballot papers and confirmation materials when voting begins.”
The WGA officially began the strike on May 2, making the strike one of the longest in its history. The current record dates back to 1988, when the WGA went on strike for 154 days.
The Hollywood strikes were costly, with a nationwide economic impact of more than $5 billion, according to economists. The pain wasn’t just felt by Hollywood insiders; Restaurants and businesses that specialize in the entertainment industry, such as makeup and janitorial services, have also experienced a downturn.
Bill Maher, who said he would return to the air during the writers’ strike before going back on his promise, announced Tuesday that his show would officially return to the air on Friday.