The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is officially over.
On the 148th day of the work stoppage, the board of the WGA West and council of the WGA East voted unanimously on Tuesday to lift the strike order as of 12:01 a.m. PT on Wednesday. following a tentative agreement on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). That means writers can go back to work as of Wednesday even before the final ratification vote.
The ratification vote will be held from Oct. 2-Oct. 9. The WGA will hold member meetings on both coasts this week in person and on zoom to discuss the details of the contract. Given the enthusiastic endorsement of the WGA negotiating committtee, it is expected to be easily ratified by strike-weary members.
The vote to lift the strike order followed unanimous votes by the WGA’s negotiating committtee, the WGA West board and WGA East council to send the contract to members for ratification.
The WGA West will hold a member meeting Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT the Hollywood Palladium. The WGA East will convene the same night at Manhattan Center at 6 p.m. ET. Zoom meetings will be held Thursday at 5 p.m. PT and Friday at 11 a.m. PT.
The WGA also released the complete 94-page contract and a summary of the new terms. The deal includes gains in compensation, a new requirement for minimum staff levels in TV writers rooms, improvement payment terms for screenwriters and protections for the use of artificial intelligence in the writing process. Per the guild’s agreement:
- AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA, meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.
- A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and provided that the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) when performing writing services.
- The Company must disclose to the writer if any materials given to the writer have been generated by AI or incorporate AI-generated material.
- The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.
The unanimous decision to end the strike comes two days after the writers and Hollywood studios successfully concluded talks for a new three-year deal on Sept. 24. Following a marathon negotiation session, the two sides were able to find compromises on key sticking points, including generative AI in the creative process, minimum staffing requirements for writers rooms and streaming residuals.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the WGA said in a statement announcing the tentative deal Sunday.
WGA and AMPTP have yet to release the details of the tentative agreement, which WGA membership will vote to ratify in the coming days. Before the contract goes wide to the guild for that vote, the WGA negotiation committee must first vote to send it along to the WGA West and WGA East boards for approval, and the boards have to OK the document before it is sent to the larger membership for a ratification vote.
The WGA’s vote to end the strike order puts an official end to the work stoppage, which was still in effect as of Sunday, when the WGA told membership: “To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then. But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing. Instead, if you are able, we encourage you to join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines this week. “
The SAG-AFTRA is still picketing the AMPTP, awaiting its turn to return to the negotiating table amid its 75-day strike.