Leaders of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the powerful screenwriters’ union, are meeting Tuesday to decide whether to accept the latest collective bargaining agreement with studios and could agree to end their strike that has paralyzed Hollywood for nearly five months.
• Also read: Strike in Hollywood: Agreement in Principle between Screenwriters and Studios
The union’s board must also set a deadline to present the proposal to the 11,500 screenwriters it represents. They are the ones who have the final say to accept or reject the employer’s offer.
A board vote in favor of the deal would pave the way for work to resume on many US series and films that are still in the early stages of writing. It would also allow late-night talk shows hosted by hosts who need scripts to return to the air sometime next month.
The WGA has already indicated that it may allow some members to return to work before the agreement is ratified. But until that process is complete, the writers technically remain on strike.
“To be clear, no one should return to work until specifically approved by the Guild. “We’ll still be on strike until then,” the union said.
The exact contents of the agreement, reached on Sunday after five days of a new round of negotiations with the studios, have not yet been made public.
However, the union assured that it was an “extraordinary” compromise that included “significant gains” in remuneration as well as protections to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
Most industry insiders expect the document to be well received and approved by Hollywood screenwriters.
If the green light is given, Hollywood is still a long way from a return to normality. Because the actors, represented by the SAG-AFTRA union, are still on strike.
A solution to this social conflict, which has been going on since mid-July, could still take a few weeks.
And even when the actors get back to work, it will certainly be months before everyone is back on set and caught up with the accumulated delays.