WGA Contract Negotiations Begin

What’s at stake and what to expect.

Yesterday marked the first day of negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (East and West) and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) over the terms of the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), the collective bargaining agreement that covers most of the work done by WGA writers.

Here is some background information on what’s at stake and what to expect during the next weeks … and possibly months.

Here are some illustrative charts:

The studios, networks, and streaming services are producing huge revenue windfalls. As a result, they are spending more money than ever on content.

With all this money flowing into the system, what about writers?

Factoring in inflation, weekly income for TV writers has dropped 23%. Meanwhile…

… writers are making less income and working less hours.

The WGA negotiating committee will be taking many complex issues during the next several weeks. The current contract ends on May 2nd.

Let’s hope the studios do the right thing and recognize the value of writers by fixing what is now a broken system.

For more background on the current state of affairs:

Writers Are Not Keeping Up

How the Web Was Won

The State of the Industry

In solidarity.

UPDATE: A New York Times article from today.

Why There Is Talk of a Writers’ Strike in Hollywood