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WGA Officially Closes Deal with AMPTP

The Writer’s Guild of America has publicly ceased the strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) as the WGA union voted “unanimously” for a new three year deal, showcasing information on the new-found agreement. By: Dylan Low

The WGA members halted all work in May, causing hiatuses for US studios namely Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount and NBCUniversal, alongside streaming platforms like Netflix and Apple TV+.

With the strike spanning 148 days and costing $5 billion in losses to the economy of California, WGA members were allowed to return to their jobs after the East and West coast leaders voted for the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA)

An official vote will take place during the week of 2nd October; however the new pact is expected to proceed with no issues.

The new agreement is described by the WGA as “exceptional”, will be made valid until May 2026 and guarantee a minimum pay increase of 5%, with an additional 4% increase on 2nd May 2024 and a 3.5% climb on 5th May 2025.

WGA will also benefit from the use of writer rooms. Beforehand there would not be a minimum, development rooms with three writer-producers must be confirmed for ten consecutive weeks of employment.

The WGA’s contract details added, Development rooms where writers are guaranteed 20 weeks of work, or more are treated as post-greenlight rooms. For these rooms on first season shows, the minimum staff size required will be three writer-producers (including the showrunner).

Additionally, WGA has ensured positions for writers as shows transition to production, which gives new writers more experience regarding the production process.

On the topic of Artificial intelligence, the new WGA deal states that it forbids the use of AI to write and rewrite literary material, while also clarifying AI-created content is not viewed as source material.

In a message to the WGA members, the negotiating committee has concluded the new deal as “an exceptional deal, with gains and protections for members in every sector of the business.”

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