After a nearly five-month strike, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is telling its members to take down their picket signs. In a release, the WGA said its Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board and the WGAE Council voted unanimously to recommend the agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. They will end their strike at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, sending writers back to work, with a ratification vote scheduled for between October 2 and 9.
A summary that explains the terms of the agreement. Has been published so we can see the details of your agreement for the first time, as well as the 94-page agreement (included below), and two segments that stand out are regulations on the use of generative AI tools, as well as data on streaming and how bonuses are calculated.
There’s a new audience-based bonus structure for series and movies made for streaming, plus an agreement for studios to share data with the Guild on the number of hours streamed for projects like Netflix original series. When it comes to AI, “you may not write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA.” Additionally, companies cannot require writers to use AI software like ChatGPT.
Even if the writers return to work, we may not see productions completely return to normal. The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), a union representing some 160,000 artists in the entertainment industry, remains on strike. Until both writers and Even if actors return to work, we probably won’t see productions return to normal.
(Divulgation: The edge The editorial staff is also unionized with the Writers Guild of America, East.)
