As Talks Are Set To Begin, WGA Says Studios Have ‘Wasted Months’ On ‘Failed Strategy’

One day before the Writers Guild of America is set to start talking with major studios about reopening negotiations, the union issued a fiery statement Thursday, telling members they’ve “been down this road before.”

The guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major studios and streamers, are slated to begin talks Friday on restarting negotiations in order to end a strike that has now lasted for more than three months. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA members are about three weeks into a strike of their own.

“So far, the companies have wasted months on their same failed strategy,” the WGA said in its statement.

The guild pointed out that negotiations broke off multiple times during the WGA strike of 2007/08. “We won’t prejudge what’s to come. But playbooks die hard,” the guild added.

The writers union also challenged the AMPTP to come to the table on Friday “willing to make a fair deal and begin to repair the damage your strikes and your business practices have caused the workers in this industry.”

On Thursday evening, the AMPTP responded with their own statement calling the WGA Bargaining Committee’s rhetoric "unfortunate."

"Tomorrow’s discussion with the WGA is to determine whether we have a willing bargaining partner," the AMPTP said. "Our only playbook is getting people back to work."

So how long could the Hollywood strikes last?

Todd Holmes, a professor of entertainment industry management at Cal State Northridge says the current WGA strike has already lasted about as long as the last writers strike in 2007/08.

“It’s a little more complicated this time,” Holmes told LAist.

That’s because writers and performers are dealing with not only streaming residuals and other money issues, but also the existential threat of artificial intelligence, which wasn’t on the table in 2007.

While Holmes says the plans to “discuss negotiations” are a step in the right direction, “Sometimes... just because talks begin does not mean things are going to be figured out. Because whatever is discussed on Friday, maybe it’s just not acceptable.”

In 2007, it took about 100 days for a deal to be hammered out.

Holmes says he’s hearing from industry professionals that the strikes could go into October.

In 1988, the WGA members held a strike for about 150 days before eventually winning increases in pay.

At a meeting in July, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors agreed to send a letter to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, urging them to return to the negotiating table.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said he had been in touch with both sides of the Hollywood strikes in order to try and help broker a deal.

Timeline: SAG-AFTRA strike

Some things to note: This is the first SAG strike since 1980. The 1960 strike, which took place while the WGA was also striking, was led by Ronald Reagan, then the president of SAG. Current events:

• May 17: Union leaders ask for and receive a strike authorization vote ahead of contract talks.
• June 7: SAG-AFTRA begins negotiations with the AMPTP; contract due to end June 30.
• June 30: Both sides agree to extend talks through July 12.
• July 12: Federal negotiator is brought in
• July 13: The national board of SAG-AFTRA authorizes its 160,000 members to go on strike.
• July 14: Picketing begins at 9 a.m. at major studios and streamer HQ’s across the city.

Timeline: WGA strike

Some things to note: It is the first WGA strike in 15 years. The last work stoppage began in November 2007 and lasted 100 days. Current events:

• April 18: 98% of WGA members vote to go on strike if the contract talks fail.
• May 1: WGA contract expires with no agreement between sides.
• May 2: WGA strike begins

The issue: Actors

Minimum earnings: SAG is asking for an 11% general wage increase to reflect inflation. The AMPTP is countering with 5%.

Share of revenue: Actors feel they haven’t received their fair share of revenue from hit streaming shows.

• Traditionally compensation has been linked to ratings. Streamers like Netflix, however, don’t release how many people watch their shows, so it’s difficult to know which ones are major hits. SAG-AFTRA proposed bringing in a third-party company to measure ratings and devise residuals. The AMPTP rejected this. 
• Executives at studios and streamers maintain they’re still recovering from pandemic losses and have spent billions of dollars creating and buying content for new streaming platforms, some of which are far from profitable.
• While some streamers are thriving (Netflix recently reported $1.71 billion of quarterly operating income), The Walt Disney Co. has announced the firing of 7000 employees to save money, having lost close to $10 billion to date on its streaming platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery is making deep cuts because of its $50 billion in debt. 

Artificial intelligence: There is deep concern about how artificial intelligence will be used, with particular anxiety about the use of a performer’s image and likeness. The union wants to prevent studios from training AI programs on actors’ work without permission, and for actors to consent and be paid if AI is used to replicate them. The AMPTP offered what it called a groundbreaking proposal that it said “protects performers’ digital likenesses." The union rejected this.

Self-taped auditions: Since the pandemic, self-produced audition tapes have become the norm — meaning actors light and film themselves. It’s labor intensive, with no pay, and widens an already competitive pool of performers. The union says it understands self-taped auditions can be useful, but wants to put restrictions around them.

• Read SAG-AFTRA’s summary of negotiation points 
• And what the AMPTP has to say about the negotiations

The issues: Writers

Maintaining a liveable wage: The WGA says that companies’ business practices have “slashed our compensation and residuals and underminedour working conditions”, and that the current contract terms failed to anticipate the explosive growth of streaming.

• It says that most of its nearly 12,000 members are making less than they once did, and that after factoring for inflation, average WGA pay has actually dropped 14% over the last five years. 
• Meanwhile the AMPTP says it’s offering the highest first-year general wage increase in more than 25 years, while also offering to create "an entirely new category of rates that will establish a new and higher floor for mid-level writers’ compensation”.

"Gig economy": The union says that shorter schedules and small writers room means writers have to cobble together jobs, similar to the gig economy. The AMPTP says screenwriting has almost nothing in common with standard "gig" jobs. Writers often have a guarantee of specific weeks or episodes, and writing jobs come with benefits such as employer-paid health care and pension plan contributions.

Staffing and duration of employment: The union wants a minimum number of weeks on a project, and a certain number of writers. The AMPTP sees this essentially as a hiring quota that's "incompatible with the creative nature of our industry", and says it's a one-size-fits-all solution to shows that are each unique.

Artificial intelligence: Writers want to make sure that AI isn’t used to replace their creative output. Meanwhile the AMPTP says "AI raises hard, important creative and legal questions for everyone. For example, writers want to be able to use this technology as part of their creative process, without changing how credits are determined, which is complicated given AI material can't be copyrighted. So it's something that requires a lot more discussion, which we've committed to doing."

• Read the full WGA statement
• Hollywood producers released a statement on May 4 that addressed specific points of the WGA's concerns. 

Why it matters

What you'll be watching:

• Ahead of the WGA contract’s expiration, studios and streamers stockpiled scripts so they would have content to produce if there were a strike. But now the actors are on strike, even that content cannot be filmed, and some productions have been cancelled mid-shoot. Expect game shows, talk shows, docu-series and reality shows in the fall (which are covered under different contracts).

• Companies like Netflix release series in multiple languages, however, so their production schedules often run many months ahead of traditional TV networks, which means they tend to have a bigger shelf of completed shows.

• Movies have a fairly long lead time, so almost all of the movies due to come out through the end of the year have already finished filming. Movies that were slated to begin production soon and come out next year or later are being pushed back, like Gladiator 2 and Deadpool 3.

The local economy:

For the 2007 - 2008 writers strike, the Milken Institute estimated the resulting economic losses were $2.1 billion, along with a net loss of 37,700 jobs directly and indirectly tied to the entertainment industry.

Those 2007-2008 losses worked out to about $20 million a day, or close to $30 million in today’s dollars. But the number of scripted series and streaming movies has grown exponentially since then.

The financial and job loss estimate includes not only lost pay for screenwriters, but also for people who work in production, and businesses that either cater to or depend on production: everything from costume and prop rental companies to caterers and equipment rental outfits.

Learn more

• TV And Movie Writers Strike Over 'Gig Economy' Conditions. What’s At Stake In The WGA Walkout
• From Gas Stations to Restaurants: How The WGA Strike Will Hit The LA Economy
• This Hollywood Writers Strike Could Have Massive Economic Impact. An Economist Explains What We Can Learn From 2007
• How The WGA Strike Of 2007 Strike Brought Donald Trump To Power
• A History Of Strikes: How The WGA Has Played Catch-Up As Emerging Technologies Made Others Richer

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