LOS ANGELES (KNX) – For the first time in 15 years, the Writers Guild is on strike.
The Writers Guild of America announced late Monday evening it would go on strike Tuesday, writing, “The Board of Directors of WGA West and the Council of the WFA East, acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Tuesday, May 2.”
It comes after weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which represents Amazon, Apple, CBS, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The two sides failed to meet an agreement before the writers’ current deal expired after midnight.
“Though our Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, the studios’ responses have been insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the WGAW said.
The union wants a minimum of six to 12 TV staffers per show based on the number of episodes as well as a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment per show. The studios rejected both demands without any counter offers.
In a statement to Deadline, AMPTP said it offered the guild “generous increases in compensation for writers” and “improvements in streaming residuals.” During the 2007-08 Writers’ Strike, the main issues were DVD residuals and having material be reused online.
“The AMPTP also indicated to the WGA that it is prepared to improve that offer, but was unwilling to do so because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the Guild continues to insist upon. The primary sticking points are “mandatory staffing,” and “duration of employment” — Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not,” it said.
AMPTP added it was still willing to negotiate with the guild.
Sara Fischer of AXIOS told CNN that negotiations continued to be at an impasse.
“No sense of progress whatsoever,” she said. “The picketing has already begun and now typically, like I said, the last time we saw this, it was around 100 days. I would expect this one to hopefully get results sooner than that.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement, encouraging both sides to come to an agreement.
"Los Angeles relies on a strong entertainment industry that is the envy of the world while putting Angelenos to work in good, middle-class jobs," she said. "I encourage all sides to come together around an agreement that protects our signature industry and the families it supports.”
The last time the Guild went on strike was in 2007. A strike was planned in 2017 but was averted.
The strike’s impact is expected to hit the industry right away, beginning with late-night talk shows.
Picketing will kick off Tuesday afternoon. Click here for the list of local picketing sites.
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