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After almost five months, the Writers Guild’s strike will be officially over at 12:01 am Wednesday.
Writers can then return to work while the ratification process plays out. If, on the off chance that members reject the tentative agreement that was worked out on Sunday, the strike will start back up again. At 148 days, the strike will be just a few days short of being the guild’s longest ever –the strike of 1988 lasted 153 days.
Here’s that latest message the Negotiating Committee sent to members:
“As we reported on Sunday, the WGA reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new three-year Minimum Basic Agreement. Today, your Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board and WGAE Council all voted unanimously to recommend the agreement. It will now go to both Guilds’ memberships for a ratification vote. Eligible voters will receive ballot and materials for the vote which will take place from October 2nd to October 9th.
“The WGAW Board and WGAE Council also voted unanimously to lift the restraining order and end the strike as of 12:01 am PT/3:01 am ET on Wednesday, September 27th. This allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval.
“Now that we have finalized the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), we can share details of this exceptional deal, with gains and protections for members in every sector of the business:
MBA 2023 Contract Materials:
Contract Informational Member Meetings:
We are convening meetings this week so current members can hear from the Negotiating Committee, Board and Council, and have the opportunity to ask questions about the agreement before the ratification vote.
- NYC: Wed. September 27th, 7:00 pm ET at the Manhattan Center. Doors open with snacks and refreshments 6:00 pm. RSVP
- Los Angeles: Wed. September 27th, 7:00 pm PT at the Hollywood Palladium. Doors open with snacks and refreshments 6:00 pm. RSVP
- Zoom meeting: Thurs. September 28th, 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET RSVP
- Zoom meeting: Fri. September 29th, 11:00 am PT/2:00 pm ET RSVP
“Please try to be with us in-person on Wednesday either in NYC or LA. We did this together and it would be good to gather again to honor both our strike and what we’ve accomplished. We look forward to discussing the deal with you.”
The tentative agreement to end the strike, which was reached Sunday night, was approved today by the WGA West Board and the WGA East Council, which also voted to lift what the guild calls a “restraining order” to end the strike “at a certain date and time, to be determined, pending ratification. This would allow writers to return to work during the ratification vote but would not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval,” the guild says.
The tentative deal now goes to the guilds’ members for final ratification. Details of the agreement haven’t been made public yet, but after the deal was reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the guild’s Negotiating Committee told members that “this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.” Key strike issues included wages, streaming residuals, protections against the abuse of Artificial Intelligence, and minimum staffing and duration of employment in TV writers’ rooms.
Prior to today’s vote by the Board and Council, the guild and the AMPTP put the final touches on their Memorandum of Agreement, which details all the deal points. After that, the WGA Negotiating Committee voted to recommend it to the Board and Council for their approval.
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