WGA ON STRIKE: FLASHBACK AND PRESENT DAY

Since its inception, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has gone on strike a total of six times prior to the engagement which commenced last week.  Here is a summary of each strike and what was gained as recorded by Writers Guild of America West:

1. 1960 (22 weeks) vs. Alliance of Television and Film Producers (ATFP) – Gains from the first WGA strike included residuals for theatrical motion pictures, paying 1.2% of the license fee when features were licensed to television; an independent pension plan; and a 4% residual for television reruns, domestic and foreign. Also, this groundbreaking contract established an independent pension fund and participation in an industry health insurance plan.
2. 1973 (16 weeks) vs. the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – Gains included the establishment of an independent health fund; 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts on videocassette sales and pay television, anticipating the future emergence of these means of distribution; and additional provisions regulating the employments of writer-producers.
3. 1981 (13 weeks) vs. the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) Gains included terms for made-for-pay television programs. Terms for reuse of television programs on nascent basic cable channels were changed from fixed residuals to 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts.
4. 1985 (2 weeks) vs. the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – The Guild struck over the studio interpretation of the formula for paying home video residuals, which was at the time the subject on a legal arbitration. The DGA accepted the studio’s proposed formula and internal opposition to the strike within the WGA brought the work stoppage to an end after only two weeks. The Guild agreed to a formula for home video residuals based on 0.3% of distributors gross.
5. 1988 (22 weeks) vs. the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – Gains included an increase in residuals for reuse of free television product on basic cable to 2.0% of the license fee; residuals negotiated for made-for-basic cable product; and improvements in creative rights for the writers of original screenplays and television movies. The Guild established with the AMPTP the Committee on the Professional Status of Writers to conduct talks about creative rights. Along with DGA and SAG, the Guild won agreement from the AMPTP to fund a tri-guild audit program, through which the guilds can assure that revenue-based residuals are paid correctly. The Guild agreed to discounts for syndication reuse of certain one-hour dramatic prime time network series.
6. 2007-2008 (14 weeks) vs. the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – Gains included MBA (Minimum Basic Agreement) coverage of content made for new media; and residuals for reuse on new media platforms, including digital downloads and use on ad-supported internet services.

In 2019 the WGA took on Hollywood agencies over what they saw as a conflict of interest. The agencies, which represent writers and also act as intermediaries between writers and studios, had started to diversify their business by investing in affiliated production companies. This practice, known as “packaging,” meant that agents could receive fees from the studios for packaging together projects, rather than just earning a commission on the writer’s earnings. The WGA saw this as a conflict of interest, as the agents’ interests were no longer solely aligned with the writers they represented. They argued that packaging fees were contributing to a decline in writer earnings, and that agencies should return to a model where they only earn commission on their clients’ earnings. The dispute resulted in a standoff between the WGA and the agencies, with many writers firing their agents in a show of solidarity with the union. The dispute was eventually resolved in 2020, with several of the major agencies agreeing to phase out packaging fees and divest from affiliated production companies.

For the current strike, which went into effect May 2nd, 2023, the WGA shared a document outlining where talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) stalled.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of April 2023, there are approximately 459,300 people employed in the motion picture industry in the United States. These craftsmen & women, below the line talent, and the currently picketing writers had to contend with a 41 week Hollywood shutdown during the pandemic and many still haven’t recovered from the financial hardship this put on themselves and their families. Does this put the striking writers in a disadvantageous position as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) might seek to wait out the WGA, each week gone by putting compounding pressure on what may already by a tenuous position for these industry families? As weeks turn into months will the striking writers still feel solidarity from their non-writer colleagues in other sectors of the business who don’t stand to gain from this action but will be increasingly eager to get back to work? In an industry that’s already seen much of it’s below the line jobs follow productions out to the U.K. and other parts of the world with tax advantageous schemes no longer offered in America – is this yet another blow to below the line talent in this country?

With AI presenting an entirely novel and existential threat to a myriad of previously secure industry positions, many are left wondering how the timing of this strike will factor into the counterparts respective positions. It was not long ago when the fast food industry seemed to embrace automation as a means to combat a growing chorus of political voices demanding a higher minimum wage. Ultimately, the increases many U.S. states saw wasn’t in its minimum wage but rather in the number of automated kiosks that popped up and have now become ubiquitous in fast food franchises in the U.S. and around the world. The former president and CEO of McDonald’s USA said as much in a 2016 editorial in Forbes entitled Thanks To ‘Fight For $15’ Minimum Wage, McDonald’s Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide.

Is there not a case to be made that the moat around the motion picture and television industry is more substantial than food service? We might ask can the “human” in humanities be replaced? In the necessarily human endeavor that is storytelling for humans, one hopes that the unique and time-honored role of entertaining ourselves with story and the cinematic experience is one territory where AI wont be able to penetrate. The question being asked right now across hundreds of job sectors is something like Is it even possible to keep AI at bay and if so for how long?

A hopeful sentiment, however unlikely, is percolating around town that this current strike will be more like the two week sortie of ’85 than the 22 week deadlocks of 1960 & 1988.