Writers’ strike wins gains in tentative agreement

On strike since May 2, the Writers Guild of America announced a tentative agreement between the union and major studios that could end the strike. 

WGA East and WGA West, in a Sept. 24 statement, said: “What we have won in this contract — most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2 — is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days. It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”

Latinas Acting Up and George Lopez Special Picket outside Warner Bros., Sept. 15, 2023.
Credit: WGA, Jerry Jerome

Picketing has been suspended and writers are returning to work. The rank and file will be voting on the contract from Oct. 2 to Oct. 9.

While the language was being finalized, the union asked its members to join a picket line of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The actors represented by SAG-AFTRA are still on strike.

The new agreement reportedly addresses writers’ demands for a livable income, minimum staffing levels and guarantees their jobs will not be eliminated by artificial intelligence.