The WGA has reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP after a 146-day strike.
According to Variety, the deal is potentially the end to the most historic writers’ strike in Hollywood’s history, with writers demanding protections from emerging AI technology, proper pay, and better working conditions overall. The deal came about this weekend between the lawyers for the writers’ guild and the AMPTP, the organization representing the major studios and streaming services in Hollywood.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional–with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” wrote the WGA’s negotiating committee in an email sent to members, obtained by Variety.
“What we have won in this contract–most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2nd–is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” wrote the committee. “It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”
“What remains now is for our staff to make sure everything we have agreed to is codified in final contract language,” the email continued. “And though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last ‘i’ is dotted. To do so would complicated our ability to finish the job. So as you have been patient with us before, we ask you to be patient again–one last time.”
The email states that once the deal is complete, the negotiating committee will then vote on whether to send the agreement to the WGA-West and WGA-East Council for approval. This would then lead to the board and council to vote on authorizing a contract ratification vote by the guild’s members. If board and council authorize the vote, they will then also vote on whether to end the strike.
Until all this is finalized, however, the strike continues until they are authorized by the guild to go back to work. However, the email states that the guild is “suspending WGA picketing” and are asking members to “join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines after this week.” It is worth noting that with the writers’ strike coming to an end, this could signal the actors’ strike also possibly nearing an end as well, especially since many of the terms the actors and writers are fighting for are the same–better pay, protections from AI, and more equitable working conditions.