Claire Pham | News Editor
September 28, 2023
After l46 long days, the nearly 11,500 screenwriters on strike can now rest.
At midnight on May 2, 2023, the Writer’s Strike began with 99% of members of The Writers Guild of America demanding protection from artificial intelligence, higher compensation, greater residuals, and better working conditions. The Writers Guild of America is a labor union that represents thousands of writers in film, media, radio, and television. This union is in charge of protecting the creative and economic rights of its members.
In early March, negotiations started to begin between the Writer Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in order to improve contracts. The AMPTP is responsible for negotiating almost the whole entertainment industry guilds and union contracts. A few members of the AMPTP include Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Apple, and ABC.
On May 1st, studies and writers were unable to come to a conclusion on a new contract, which sparked the WGA strike in front of Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California. Immediately after, several shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and Saturday Night Live were put on hold due to the strike. Throughout May, more and more actors and companies began to show their support and join the movement.
Throughout the protest, fan favorites like Dwayne Johnson, Florence Pugh, Hillary Duff, and Pete Davidson were just some of the few big names who came out to support the writers. On July 13, SAG-AFTRA joined on board with the WGA and sanctioned its own official strike. SAG-AFRTRA is The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists the most distinguished entertainment union in the world, representing over 160,000 actors and entertainers.
The strike lasted through the summer with still no deal. This put a halt on several pro TV shows and movies like Stranger Things, Cobra Kai, and Big Mouth. Until recently on September 25th, the WGA announced that a tentative deal has been made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. “I am so psyched that Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 is back on track,” said senior Giselle Galbasini, as Jenny Han the writer was firm on not filing until the strike was over.
The deal allows writers to choose the use of AI to aid their writing, higher compensation for the writers, and adds new minimum staffing requirements for TV writers’ rooms depending on the number of episodes. The strike is scheduled to end on September 27th. This is a three-year contract agreement formed after five days of talking between the writers union and studios. “I am glad the writers are finally getting the wages they deserve after months of strike,” said senior Mason Henderson. After this strike left the industry in shambles, writers are more than ready to start their newest projects.
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