Writers Strike as WGA Members Ratify New Studio Contract – Deadline

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The writers officially agreed to their deal with the studios.

This afternoon, the WGA membership ratified its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, bringing a final end to the strike that had lasted nearly five months.

After a week of voting, the vast majority of WGA members cast their votes in favor of ratifying the three-year Basic Minimum Agreement. About 8,525 valid votes, or “99% of the WGA,” as the guild just called it, were cast by members of the 11,000-member Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East.

“There were 8,435 yes votes and 90 no votes,” the union announced in an email sent to members.

With the strides Clerks has made in terms of AI guardrails, tailgating, staffing in writers’ rooms, and data transparency, as well as pay increases, the now-closed deal runs from September 25, 2023, to May 31, 2026.

Monday’s widely expected strong certification result comes about two weeks after the two sides reached a tentative agreement on Sept. 24, ending a 148-day strike, the second-longest after the 1988 clerks’ strike. The results also come on the same day that SAG began -AFTRA continues its amazing second week of renewed talks with AMPTP. Along with the WGA throughout much of the summer, the 160,000-strong actors’ union organized picket lines in mid-July

The WGA went on its first strike in 15 years on May 2 as its last contract with studios and broadcasters expired. Picket lines rose across New York City, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the USA, but the two sides did not speak on the record for more than 100 days.

Starting September 20, after the studio’s reboot stumbled in August, Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Disney’s Bob Iger finally sat down directly with WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, as well as union bosses Former David Goodman and Chris Keyser and other members of the WGA’s negotiating committee hope for a breakthrough.

On September 26, two days after this remarkable deal was reached, both the WGA West Council and the WGA East Council voted unanimously to recommend the agreement to their members and send it to a vote. Meanwhile, WGAW President Meredith Stemm and WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi told members they “strongly support this proposed contract and encourage you to vote to ratify it.”

Today both Stem and Takeuchi applaud the significant mandate provided by the Convention members.

“Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract that provides meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” the WGAW leader said after the vote count was announced. “Together, we have achieved what many said was impossible just six months ago. We could not have achieved this industry-changing contract without WGA Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman, Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, the entire WGA Negotiating Committee, and the strike leaders , the batch coordinators, and the employees who supported each part of the negotiations and strike.

“Now is the time for AMPTP to get the rest of the city back to work by negotiating a fair contract with our brothers SAG-AFTRA, who have supported writers throughout our negotiations,” said the WGAE president. “Until the studios reach an agreement that meets the needs of performers, WGA members will remain on the picket lines, marching shoulder to shoulder with SAG-AFTRA in solidarity.”

In a statement of their own, the AMPTP, led by Carole Lombardini, took a more measured response to today’s ratification vote. “AMPTP member companies congratulate the WGA on ratifying its new contract, which represents meaningful gains and protections for writers,” the group representing the studio and streamers said. “It is an important advance for our industry to have writers back in business.”

WGA members across the country received their ratification votes and support materials via email on October 2. Voting continued until 1pm PT today, with the union holding a question-and-answer session at noon at its headquarters at Fairfax and 3rd Avenue. We hear that that session was poorly attended. This small attendance was due in part to a vote by a large group of Writers Guild members early last week.

The last time writers went on strike – in 2007/08 – the subsequent deal was approved by 93.6% with 4,060 votes.

With the West Coast Council and East Coast Council lifting the restraining order and ending the long strike as of 12:01 a.m. PT on September 27, writers are already back at work. While the actors are still on strike, with the support of many WGA members, there is optimism that things are going smoothly with those talks, which resumed today after bargaining last week.

As the currently negotiating SAG-AFTRA continues to seek its own deal with studios and broadcast companies, several shows started their writers room back up last week as broadcast networks, cable and streaming services look to put their slate back into production soon. Celebrity guests are still few in number, but late-night shows are back on the air, as are the majority of daytime shows. Saturday Night Live Its 49th season is scheduled to begin on October 14.

There was no picketing today by SAG-AFTRA or its allies regarding the Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday.

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