When will the WGA Strike End? – Hollywood’s Crucial Weekend Negotiations
On Saturday evening, the major film and television studios presented their final proposal to the striking writers, according to a source close to the matter who spoke to CNN. This development has raised considerable optimism that the negotiations to end the prolonged strike, which has persisted for months, might reach an agreement this weekend.
Representatives from the Writers Guild of America are anticipated to carefully evaluate the offer and provide their response.
Throughout Saturday, negotiators from the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers engaged in discussions for the fourth consecutive day. Should a provisional agreement be reached, it would still necessitate approval from the general membership before it becomes effective.
“The WGA and AMPTP convened for negotiations on Saturday and are scheduled to reconvene on Sunday,” stated the two organizations in a joint announcement.
By Saturday afternoon, the four key studio leaders—namely, David Zaslav, head of Warner Bros. Discovery; Bob Iger, CEO of Disney; Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix; and Donna Langley, studio chairwoman at NBCUniversal—had exited the Sherman Oaks meeting room. This indicated that almost all of the major issues had been addressed, as per one individual, who emphasized that although they were not physically present in the room, the studio heads were still deeply involved in the process.
Representatives from the AMPTP and the WGA did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
The WGA, boasting a membership exceeding 11,000, initiated the strike on May 2, and as of Saturday, it had persisted for 145 days. The strike is now within a fortnight of surpassing the union’s longest-ever strike, which endured for 154 days back in 1988. Even before SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in the strike on July 14, many productions had already ground to a halt.
The negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP have revolved around disagreements regarding wages, safeguards for workers, and the utilization of artificial intelligence.
It’s important to note that even if a provisional agreement is reached, it must still gain approval from the general membership before taking effect. Furthermore, even after this, without a consensus with SAG-AFTRA, which represents approximately 160,000 actors, an end to the WGA strike alone would not be sufficient to resume the halted productions.
The WGA initiated the strike on May 2, and as of Saturday, it had persisted for 145 days, placing it within a fortnight of surpassing the union’s longest-ever strike, which endured for 154 days in 1988. Even before SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in the strike on July 14, many productions had already come to a standstill.
Both parties share similar sets of demands, including improved wages, residual payments from streaming services for their contributions, and safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence in their industry.
