The Writers Guild of America leadership have unanimously endorsed a tentative deal on a new film and TV contract with the studios, triggering a ratification vote among the 15,000 members.
Last night both the WGAW Board and WGAE Council voted unanimously to recommend the contract. In an email to members on Friday morning obtained by Variety, the WGA said, “After the negotiating committee’s unanimous recommendation of the agreement, last night both the WGAW Board and WGAE Council voted unanimously to recommend the contract. Upon certification by the WGA’s chief negotiator of the final contract language, the Guilds will conduct a ratification vote later this month among eligible members.”
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative deal on Monday, with negotiations continuing hours after the contract expired at midnight Wednesday.
The new contract, if approved, will remain in effect until May 1, 2023 and holds a price tag of approximately $200 million.
In a memo sent to members, the WGA said that the new agreement contains many benefits similar to those AMPTP agreed to in contracts with the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, particularly concerning residuals for streaming projects. Among the gains earned by the guild include “increases in SVOD residuals, the lowering of SVOD budget breaks, and elimination of almost all SVOD grandfathering, as well as rollbacks, including syndication residuals.”
WGA is the final major guild to come to terms with the AMPTP for this cycle of contract negotiations. On Monday, the SAG-AFTRA national board approved its contract with AMPTP by a two-thirds majority, sending it to members for a final approval vote. The $318 million, three-year contract includes a 26% increase in fixed streaming residuals for the first three years of a movie or TV show’s availability on a streaming service, a major demand by Hollywood’s labor force given the wave of streaming projects being developed for new services like Disney+ and Peacock.