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After five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood studios have reached a preliminary agreement to potentially end the strike that has rocked the entertainment industry.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (the group representing studios, streaming services, and production companies) and the WGA made a preliminary deal on Sunday. Once approved by the Guild’s board and members, the strike can end as soon as this week, helping an industry of people return to work.
WGA Strike – What we know
“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,” the guild said in an email to members. “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days.”
This strike was 8 days shy of becoming the longest in the Guild’s history. In 1988, members walked on for a whopping 154 days.
This is a great first step to rebooting Hollywood, but there is more work to be done. Talks between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have not resumed, leaving crew members unemployed.
“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,” the actors union said in a statement. “While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.”
The statement said the guild continues “to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand.”This is excellent progress for the entertainment industry. Five months is a long time to be out of work, and we hope this strike creates better work standards for writers, producers, actors, production staff, and more.
Actors join strike
SAG-AFTRA, the major labor union for Hollywood actors, joined the strike in July, making it the first time in 60 years that both the actors and writers were on strike at the same time. The historic double strike came after the union, representing nearly all TV and film actors, called the strike due to it not securing a new contract with major studios.
Industry writers, actors and fans said they were disappointed in the cruelty of Hollywood studio executives. One Deadline article mentioned a studio executive’s direct quote and cold-as-icwritewrite approach, saying, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” and called that line of thinking “a cruel but necessary evil.”
In August, Emmy Award-winning star Billy Porter revealed that he was forced to sell his home as SAG-AFTRA and the WGA struggled to find common ground with the big wigs of Tinseltown.
“I have to sell my house because we’re on strike and I don’t know when we’re gonna go back,” the Pose star told the Evening Standard, a newspaper based in London. “The life of an artist, until you make ‘F— you’ money — which I haven’t made yet — is still check-to-check. I was supposed to be in a new movie, and on a new television show starting in September. None of that is happening.”
SEE ALSO:
Why Are Some Films Allowed To Promote During The Writer’s Strike?
Howard University Faculty Reach Tentative Agreement To Thwart Threatened Strike
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