The Writers Guild of America told members in an email today that the latest offer by Hollywood studios is “not yet good enough.” The WGA strike began on May 12 and negotiations did not resume until August 11. The union’s rejection of the latest offer means the strike will continue, but at least there is some communication between the two sides.
Variety reports that the WGA highlighted six areas where the studios’ offer doesn’t meet expectations. “The loopholes, limitations, and omissions in their modest proposal, too numerous to single out, make them effectively toothless,” says the WGA in an email. “In the meantime, no writer can be told by the WGA about how well their project is doing, much less receive a residual based on that data.”
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is putting pressure on the WGA by showing the public that the AMPTP has made real concessions, but the WGA leadership seems unimpressed. Studio CEOs such as Bob Iger of Disney and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery have expressed to the WGA that it is time to end the strike. In a Thursday memo, guild leaders said they communicated to the AMPTP that “progress has been made,” but dialed it back by likening the offer to “giving with one hand and taking back with the other.”
The WGA Strike, in Addition to the SAG-AFTRA Strike, Have Ground Hollywood to a Halt
The 2023 WGA strike constitutes the largest movie industry labor stoppage since the 1988 WGA strike, which lasted 153 days. Two of the main focuses of the current dispute are residuals from streaming programs and restricting the use of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT. The WGA did state in a recent email that it has had “real discussions” and “movement” with the AMPTP regarding A.I., but added, “We are not yet where we need to be. As one example, they continue to refuse to regulate the use of our work to train AI to write new content for a motion picture.”
Today’s email will surely discourage those hoping for an impending end to the strike, which says, “The companies’ counteroffer is neither nothing, nor nearly enough. We will continue to advocate for proposals that fully address our issues rather than accept half measures like those mentioned above and other proposals not listed here.” The WGA also indicated to its members that negotiations will continue.
The WGA told members that the latest offer from the studios is “not yet good enough.” The guild noted that the studios are willing to enshrine the concept of a TV staff size in the contract, but that “the loopholes, limitations, and omissions in their modest proposal…make them… pic.twitter.com/ZdvziVZ0Vf
— Variety (@Variety) August 24, 2023
