Monday, October 7, 2024

WGA strike: Agreement on contract talks for Hollywood Writers Guild may be reached as early as today



CNN

After After four days of marathon negotiations, the Writers Guild of America could reach an agreement as early as Sunday with major film and television studios. People familiar with the matter told CNN.

Saturday evening was presented by major film and television studios “Best and Final” offer A person close to the situation told CNN of the striking writers.

A tentative agreement still needs to be ratified by the WGA’s membership, which represents more than 11,000 writers. But if a deal is reached, it would mark the end of a nearly five-month strike that would be the second-longest in union history. The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the trade union representing major Hollywood studios, have set an unofficial deadline of the Yom Kippur holiday to end the strike, according to Variety.

Actors union SAG-AFTRA has also been on strike since mid-July. Both unions have similar demands, including better wages, residual payments from streaming services and job protection against the use of artificial intelligence. Many successful, award-winning writers say they can’t make a living Current industry structure. The growth of original content on streaming services has led to fewer residuals. Sites tend to offer shorter seasons, reducing the amount of work available to writers.

There were also two Hollywood strikes Drawn and expensive, with a nationwide economic impact of more than $5 billion, according to economists. Industries such as restaurants, service companies and prop shops have also felt the ripple effects of the ongoing disputes, resulting in layoffs. In New York, the disruption of 11 major products caused $1.3 billion in losses and 17,000 jobs, according to Empire State Development.

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Even if the WGA reaches a deal, the Hollywood machine can’t start churning again until the union resolves its dispute with SAG-AFTRA, which represents about 160,000 actors.

A potential WGA deal could also be raised Pressure on SAG-AFTRA The two unions appeared to be operating in lockstep with each other throughout their respective strikes, with only one way to settle on an agreement.

Strikes are part of it Major form of labor disputes They have taken the country by storm. Nurses and thousands of workers Cleaning workers UPS workers and Starbucks baristas have walked off the job in recent months. Most notably, the United Auto Workers union called a strike against the nation’s three largest automakers.

The “summer of strikes” and the resurgence of more aggressive tactics to ensure equal pay come after years of low- and middle-income workers advocating against stagnant wages, poor working conditions and widening inequality.

This report has been updated with additional information

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