The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) Board and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) Council this week are conducting a strike authorization vote (SAV), which may authorize the group to name a strike after the present Minimal Primary Settlement (MBA) expires on Could 1.
Asking for a SAV is a step that unions take, “to exhibit resolve and assist for the bargaining agenda, and to organize for a attainable strike, notably in negotiations the place crucial points are at stake,” based on the affiliation’s web site.
The present vote started Tuesday and can proceed via Monday, April 17. Talks have been underway for 4 weeks thus far, and can resume in earnest after the vote is in. If accredited, a 2023 strike may begin as early as 3:01 am ET on Tuesday, Could 2.
“The studios want to reply to the disaster writers face,” WGAW wrote in a tweet. “WGA members should exhibit our willingness to combat for the contract writers want and deserve by supporting a strike authorization vote… Over the previous decade, the businesses embraced enterprise practices that slashed our compensation and undermined our working circumstances. We’re asking to revive author pay & circumstances to replicate our worth to this trade. The survival of our occupation is at stake.”
A few of the Board and Council’s calls for embrace elevated residuals for reuse markets, elevated contributions to pension plans and well being funds, and standardized compensation and residual phrases for options launched both theatrically or by way of streaming. As well as: enacted measures to fight discrimination and harassment and promote pay fairness, and a strengthened regulation of choices and exclusivity in tv author employment contracts.
A easy “Sure” vote does forged authority for the Board and Council to name the strike, nonetheless, an amazing majority is required so as to ship a powerful message to the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers — which represents the 9 largest studios in Hollywood — that the membership is united in its agenda. The stronger the assist for a strike, the extra leverage the WGA has when heading again to the negotiations desk.
In anticipation of a attainable strike, some reveals (together with NBC’s Quantum Leap and La Brea) rolled manufacturing on the present season proper into the following, in order to financial institution episodes to offset any lull in output.
Based on the WGA, extra writers work on the MBA minimal now than a decade in the past. Between 2013 and 2014, solely 33 p.c of all TV sequence writers have been paid the minimal. However within the practically 10 years since, that quantity has jumped to 50 p.c. Decrease weekly pay of the writers and producers represented was additionally cited as being down 4 p.c all through the final decade. When accounting for inflation, that decline leaps to a staggering 23 p.c.
Beforehand, SAVs have been supported by a 90 p.c “Sure” vote in 2007 and a 96 p.c “Sure” vote in 2017, the previous of which lasted 100 days. That works stoppage, coming at midseason because it did, resulted in, amongst different issues, truncated seasons for reveals reminiscent of 30 Rock, The Huge Bang Concept, Brothers & Sisters, three CSIs, Determined Housewives, Gray’s Anatomy, Heroes, How I Met Your Mom, Misplaced, NCIS, The Workplace, Scrubs and Two and a Half Males — to call just some of those that wound up producing half or much less of their seasons.
