After months of picketing, Hollywood screenwriters appear to be gearing up to return to work, having reached a tentative agreement with production houses Sunday night. .The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which has more than 11,000 members, went on Strike May 1, 2023 following a nearly unanimous referendum because the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) denied their requests for restructuring the way writers get compensated for their work and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the industry. .The strike was the first of its kind since 1988 when the WGA walked out for 154 days. .Due to the widespread move to streaming in recent years, the WGA asserted their writers should be paid according to streaming revenue, arguing there are fewer people going to the movies and watching television, as people are favouring streaming platforms instead. It also argued that up to 80% of their work could be replaced by AI, and demanded regulations surrounding the technology in scriptwriting. .Now, the writers say they have reached a tentative agreement after production giants “finally [came back to] the table to make a deal” — however, the strike is still technically in motion; union members have just agreed to stop picketing. .“What we have won in this contract,” the WGA said in an email to its members, “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.”.“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.”.“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional,” the WGA continued, “with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the 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,” the WGA added. “But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing.” .Next the WGA will vote on the agreement reached on Sunday. .According to the New York Times, the AMPTP conceded to most of the demands posed by the WGA after five straight days of negotiation, including “increases in royalty payments for streaming content.”.Though no regulations surrounding the use of AI were specified, there will be certain “guarantees that artificial intelligence will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation.”.Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a WGA negotiator, explained the union’s perspective in April when the WGA was first looking to strike. .“This is not an ordinary negotiating cycle,” Sanchez-Witzel said. “We are fighting for writers’ economic survival and stability of our profession.”.“We’re disappointed, but not surprised. The companies have never taken our issues seriously without at least the threat of a fight.”
