Writers Guild Strike Authorization Vote Breaks Records, as 98% Say ‘Yes’
The vote is in, and members of the Writers Guild of America are very, very strongly in favor of going on strike if satisfactory terms are not negotiated by May 1, when their current contract expires.
As voting on the strike authorization closed this afternoon, a record 97.85% of respondents said “Yes” to a work stoppage. Additionally, a record 78.79% of eligible WGA members (9,218 members) participated in the vote.
A simple “Yes” vote grants authority for the Board and Council to call the strike, but an overwhelming majority is desired in order to send a strong message to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — which represents the nine largest studios in Hollywood — that the WGA membership is united in its agenda.
The stronger the support for a strike, the more leverage the WGA has when heading back to the negotiations table. With the strike authorization vote in, negotiations between both sides are expected to begin in earnest.
Previously, SAVs were supported by a 90 percent “Yes” vote in 2007 and a 96 percent “Yes” vote in 2017. The former work stoppage, which lasted 100 days and came at midseason, resulted in, among other things, truncated seasons for shows such as 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Brothers & Sisters, three CSIs, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, NCIS, The Office, Scrubs and Two and a Half Men — to name just a few of the ones that wound up producing half or less of their seasons.
According to the WGA, more writers work at the MBA minimum now than a decade ago. Between 2013 and 2014, only 33 percent of all TV series writers were paid the minimum. But in the nearly 10 years since, that number has jumped to 50 percent. Lower weekly pay of the writers and producers represented was also cited as being down four percent throughout the last decade. When accounting for inflation, that decline leaps to a staggering 23 percent.
Some of the Board and Council’s demands include increased residuals for reuse markets, the reduction of “mini writers rooms” that greatly diminish the size of TV writing staffs, increased contributions to pension plans and health funds, and standardized compensation and residual terms for features released either theatrically or via streaming. In addition: enacted measures to combat discrimination and harassment and promote pay equity, and a strengthened regulation of options and exclusivity in television writer employment contracts.
In anticipation of a possible strike, some shows (including NBC’s Quantum Leap and La Brea) rolled production on the current season right into the next, so as to bank episodes to offset any lull in output.
Go ahead. Make our day.
Here we go again! Just give the writers more money and benefits. They deserve it & are constantly left in the lurch by tech development. Without them, we would have NO creative content. That said, I still mourn the loss of Pushing Daisies from the last writer’s strike.
I think low ratings were the culprit!
So it was kinda a mix of both, the first season was cut to 9 episodes and the 10 months between the first and second season didn’t help. Both of those were caused by the writers strike.
Agree with you, Lindsay. The writers definitely deserve it. At the same time, Pushing Daisies also popped in my mind as a very unfortunate casualty of the 2007-2008 strike. Still not over that either.
I could see this going to a strike. It’s long past due for writers go receive appropriate compensation. But with the streaming bubble kind of shaky, companies are penny pinching as much as possible right now.
I don’t think standardized pricing makes sense. I know some shows (somehow) are able to get around these things too.
Aren’t shows required to have x amount of directors per season? But on streaming and premium TV I see stories like “Bill Hader directed every episode of Barry this season”.
And then there’s shows where they limit how many writers can get credited even if there wasn’t a headwriter, so it works both ways.
I dont believe there is a DGA rule stopping one person from directing an entire 22 episode season of a broadcast drama. But it would be a grueling schedule to film one episode, scout locations for the next episode while doing post production on a previous episode which would be done basically all at the same time.
Curious, how this will affect daytime dramas… Obviously Days of our Lives should be fine for eight or nine months, but the others will run out of material in 6-8 weeks.
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In 2007 I believe the writer’s strike saved the Grey’s Anatomy season (4) as it was sorta all over the place in the first half. When the contract was worked out, the writers’ put together a great end to the season (five episodes).
Just depends on how long it lasts. The last strike in 2007/08 didn’t affect them that much as they had filmed so much in advanced. But it seems like now the 3 still on broadcast don’t film that far like they used to so it might be more to what happened when Covid shut everything down. I remember how bad the last strike was and then Covid shutting everything down. They’ll still be able to film too whatever episodes were written (that includes primetime and streaming shows) but then stop once they run out of scripts. I agree the writers deserve more but everyone hurts from a strike and we could see a lot more shows canceled because of it.
Last time the daytime dramas continued with non-union writers and/or scabs, often following the “bible” that the head writer had already outlined. The “bible” doesn’t have any dialogue…..just the plots.
I still have PTSD from the last one. You could only burn 12 episodes of a 350 MB avi file onto a DVD. Flashbacks of trying to organize those seasons are haunting me.
I don’t even have to look it up, I remember so clearly: House season 4, Prison Break season 3, Heroes & Ugly Betty season 2…
Pay the writers. Don’t be stingy.
Pay the writers while Candy illegally downloads all of the episodes from Torrent sites…
The writers definitely deserve increased pay, but we as consumers should also watch and buy the seasons when available as opposed to downloading and burning the files.
LOL
Yes, the lamentations of an amoral bit torrent thief don’t amount to a hill of beans. I agree, Tommy.
LOL
Well said, Tommy.
The lamentations of an amoral thief like Candy don’t amount to a hill of beans.
With the high demand for content, one would think writers have the upper hand. They do create the work. Without the foundation, creatives cannot design and performers cannot interpret, and networks, cablers, satellite providers, and streamers have little to offer. I do hope there is resolution otherwise the system will weaken even more.
Well good thing I have a long list of shows on my watch some day list. That and the few reality shows I like (Amazing Race, and most cooking competitions on the Food Network) should keep me occupied for awhile. Though seriously I hope that the writers get what they are asking for without having to be out of a job too long.
All their demands seem reasonable.
Give them what they want. Without writers, there are no shows to produce.
I hated one of those past strikes. Season 3 of Supernatural was affected. That was one of the better seasons for the entire run. Too bad we missed on what they might have done if they had had the entire run of episodes.
Figure it is worth taking a shot posting here.
As someone who has dreamt of being a TV writer my whole life, but has never been able to break into the industry (for reference point, I came closer to being a model than being a writer) what steps should I take?
I have USBs and clouds full of specs and originals and bibles. The Writer’s Guild Website seems to only help people already in the field, not aspiring. Should I try agencies that take unsolicited scripts? Should I break into CAA and put my movie on someone’s desk?
There’s no easy answer but sure, submit to those who take unsolicited. If you have capital to invest you can consider screenwriting contests, which can help you build a good Coverfly score even if you don’t win. There’s sites like Inktip and while I wouldn’t recommend criminal trespass (though Spielberg did it) you can certainly get Imdb Pro and scour it for contact info and try cold calling people or sending emails. Target assistants too, they’re also looking for great scripts to ride upwards. Certainly if you’re bold and in LA and willing to lay down your pride, you can try to scope out people going to and from lunch at popular spots or from the lot and approach them on the street, or probably way better methods I’m not thinking of. Just be as humble and ego-less as possible, a bold move doesn’t mean a pushy attitude. If you’re willing to pay you can also seek out mentorship, their connections are always case by case but it never hurts to stay in education since your peers can also become a valuable connection in the future.
Thanks for the advice! Always weary of contests, but may have to try a few just to see if anything comes from it.
It always just seems weird to me that the entertainment world is proud of how difficult it is to enter. Imagine a basketball player not having an easy path despite being really good (certainly not saying I’m the equivalent of an undeniable basketball player but you know what I mean).
Oh there’s also pitch festivals, both online and in person. I should add that looking only at agencies is unfortunately backwards, you’re more likely to make even a small indie sale or some kind of accolade by plugging away putting your scripts out there to producers as much as possible, than you are to get agent representation without any credits or awards. Ultimately you can either be original, or you can be relentless. Original in the material you create, or in how you decide to approach breaking in to the industry, either will serve you well. Lacking that you can only be relentless in improving your work and putting it out there as much as possible until somebody pays attention.
No, not again! Several of my favorite shows were cancelled because of the last writers strike, and I do not want to go through that again!
Well, it’s safe to say the writers don’t care about you OR the canceled shows, Liz. They’ll get writing jobs on the next show. It’s just a paycheck to them.
Hollywood is dog eat dog. No one is in the industry to help others. That’s what medicine and social work are for.
(That being said, it’s pretty clear writers should be paid more.)
I still hope they make a deal in time. Without writers, there are no shows, that’s why they should get payed, what they deserve. Hopefully bosses understand that. If production stops, they will lose them most.
I still have lot of shows on my old watch list, If the strike happen, I at least finally cross somethings out of it.
Honestly, I won’t even be affected this time. I have so much content backlogged on my streaming services, they could go on strike for a year and I still would have too much content to watch.
Agreed they deserve to be treated fairly. However if they strike they’re going to put lots of workers in the industry out of work and potentially down and out !
I’m in full solidarity with the writers – this time, everytime.
Last writers strike created an avalanche of Reality TV. You want to see that again?
So basically you realize that without writers there would be no scripted shows.
With a strike there is huge hole that will be filled with something pretty bad… Mark my Words. It Will happen
To avoid another 07/08 situation they should reach a compromise contract in the short term with both sides agreeing to negotiate in good faith for the next 8-12 months. Kinda like a continuing resolution. Strikes are good for getting long term benefit but are painful in the short term. Better if possible to avoid it.
With everything in turmoil now, streamers cutting down their costs and networks doing the same… I got a feeling a new writers strike will be the last thing to push that development ahead. Probably they will negotiate more money, but there will be a lot less opportunities for writers doing scripted shows and movies, soooo… Is it really victory?
And where and whose pockets are those extra benefits and pay coming out of? Surely not the studios because that would be beneath them, right? Yea, we know it’s coming out of our wallets one way or another through another upped price in streaming. Whose paying for the healthcare package? The studios of course but they will get a group deal and therefore the everyday insured folk will have to pay more for their health coverage. Hollywood always wins. I bet this deal will even drive inflation more and make buying TV seasons and films more expensive in the future. I’m for the writers getting owed their just dues but the trickle down from that will affect us just as much as it will affect them in terms of higher costs at the market and other stores on items like food, clothing, electronics, health and beauty. If only the execs at the studios and stars would take a pay cut to support the writers then their will not be this further bubble on whether it will affect inflation or not. Just my opinion not facts but it sure seems this deal they want would hit are wallets hard too.