The looming Hollywood writers' strike

A writers' strike could soon be hitting Hollywood for the first time in over 15 years.

Why are Hollywood writers threatening to go on strike?

In recent weeks, the ​​Writers Guild of America has been negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios, for a new contract. They do so every three years, but this time, members of the writers' guild are threatening to go on strike unless numerous demands, largely concerning the way they're compensated, are met. The WGA has argued changes in compensation are necessary due to the rise of streaming in Hollywood.

"The companies have leveraged the streaming transition to underpay writers, creating more precarious, lower-paid models for writers' work," the guild said.

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According to a WGA report, half of television writers are earning minimum pay now compared to 33 percent a decade ago, and on television staffs today, "more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience." Additionally, median weekly writer-producer pay has declined 23 percent over the past decade when adjusted for inflation, compensation for screenwriters has declined 14 percent since 2018 when accounting for inflation, most writers for streaming shows "are earning less per season because of shorter work periods," and writers on comedy-variety shows made for streaming don't have the same protections as their colleagues, the WGA said.

A pattern of demands released by the guild and approved by its members included a significant increase in minimum compensation for writers, standardized residual compensation whether a film is released in theaters or on streaming, and a crackdown on the "abuses of mini-rooms." This generally refers to a practice where a smaller group of writers is hired to work on a television show at scale over a shorter period of time, often before the series has actually been ordered, as opposed to being given a more steady job in a full writers' room. "Really all it is, is saying, 'I want you to do all this valuable work, just crammed into the smallest amount of weeks that I can get it out of you and pay you the lowest amount contemplated," WGA assistant executive director Ellen Stutzman told The Hollywood Reporter.

Other demands included increasing contributions to pension plans and health funds, ensuring writers are properly compensated throughout the entire process of making a show from pre-production to post-production, and enacting measures to "combat discrimination and harassment and to promote pay equity." WGA member Tian Jun Gu described the negotiations as an "investment in the future" to ensure "our industry is one that's viable to live and work in."

What's the status of negotiations?

Contract negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP began on March 20. But on April 11, WGA negotiating committee member Eric Heisserer said that after several weeks, the companies have so far "been unwilling to engage with us in a meaningful way." Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, another negotiating committee member, added that "the companies have never taken our issues seriously without at least the threat of a fight," so she told writers voting to authorize a strike would allow "us to return to the negotiating table with your power behind us."

Meanwhile, the AMPTP says it is approaching the negotiations with the "long-term health and stability of the industry as our priority," adding, "The goal is to keep production active so that all of us can continue working and continue to deliver to consumers the best entertainment product available in the world." Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav recently said he's "hopeful" a deal can be reached that's "fair to all parties," but he added, "We're assuming the worst from a business perspective."

What happens now that a strike is authorized?

From April 11 through April 17, members of the WGA voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The list of names who endorsed a strike authorization included Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once director Daniel Kwan. "It's about maintaining a healthy middle/working class of writers in our industry," he tweeted. "It's about showing our collective strength as new tech threatens to take away our leverage."

This, however, doesn't guarantee a strike will happen but simply gives WGA leadership the ability to call one if a new contract isn't negotiated by the deadline. In 2021, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees similarly voted to authorize a nationwide strike, but this ended up being avoided after the labor union successfully reached an agreement with the studios. The WGA also averted a strike in 2017, even after an authorization vote, after reaching a new three-year deal at the last minute.

How might this affect film and TV production?

The last writers' strike was in 2007, and it lasted 100 days, during which time television production halted across the industry. Should a strike move forward this year and last for a similar amount of time, expect to see tangible effects on some major shows and movies, including potential delays, depending on where they are in their production schedule. During the previous strike, for example, Saturday Night Live went off the air the entire time, so there might not be another SNL episode this season should another strike happen. Other shows, from Breaking Bad to Lost, aired abbreviated seasons as a result of the 2007 strike.

When could a strike begin?

A new contract agreement must be reached by May 1, as this is when the current contract will expire. So after this week's authorization vote, should there be no deal by then, a strike could begin on May 2.