On 2 May 2023, members of the Writers Guild of America decided to go on strike after contract negotiations failed.
This is reportedly the largest interruption in American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike has impacted shows such as Abbott Elementary, Yellowjackets, House of the Dragon, and many more. According to various resources, this has been the largest labour stoppage for the WGA since the 2007–2008 strikes.
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The main focus of the strike is the dispute between the WGA labour union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The centre of the argument resides in the residuals earned from streaming media and services. The WGA claims that the AMPTP’s share of these residuals has led to a decrease in the average writer’s income.
The strike began partially due to the expiration of the Minimum Basic Agreement on 1 May 2023. The MBA of 2020 served as the collective bargaining agreement that covered most of the work done by WGA writers. The Minimum Basic Agreement basically puts in place a minimum wage for film, and television writers.
The Minimum Basic Agreement, however, only applied to writers for broadcast television. This means that writers working on media produced streaming services such as AppleTV+ and Netflix were left to negotiate their own wages. Due to the exclusion of writers working on productions for streaming services, writers working on those productions often received lower pay despite doing the same volume of work as broadcast writers.
As part of the strike activity, writers who belong to the WGA are strongly discouraged from working on any projects with companies that are members of the AMPTP. If writers are to do such work, they will face punishments such as fines or even banishment from the guild.
These clowns (Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, & Seth Meyers) are NOTHING without a massive team of scriptwriters! The writers guild just went on strike, and now all of their shows are shutting down. Lmao how sad! pic.twitter.com/y3kSiGhXey
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) May 4, 2023
As of now, writers are continuing to picket outside major production studios. Late night shows like the Jimmy Fallon Show have shutdown production. The WGA’s demands have yet to be met.
