CNN
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Members of the Writers Guild of America union ratified a brand new contract with Hollywood and tv studios, the WGA stated in an announcement launched Monday.
Of the 8,525 legitimate votes solid, 99% of WGA members voted to ratify the brand new contract, which can final from September 25, 2023, by way of Could 1, 2026, the discharge stated.
“By way of solidarity and dedication, we’ve got ratified a contract with significant features and protections for writers in each sector of our mixed membership,” stated WGA West President Meredith Stiehm. “Collectively we had been capable of accomplish what many stated was not possible solely six months in the past.”
WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen stated that the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers now wants to barter a good contract with SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, which has been on strike since July.
“Till the studios make a deal that addresses the wants of performers, WGA members will likely be on the picket traces, strolling side-by-side with SAG-AFTRA in solidarity,” she stated.
In an announcement, the AMPTP stated the brand new contract represents “significant features” for Hollywood’s writers.
“The AMPTP member firms congratulate the WGA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents significant features and protections for writers. It can be crucial progress for our business that writers are again to work,” the group stated.
As a part of the deal, most writers’ minimal pay will improve 5% instantly, one other 4% in Could 2024 after which one other 3.5% in Could 2025. Well being fund contributions will improve by a half proportion level to 12% of firms’ reportable earnings. And writers engaged on the identical script will not want to separate pension and well being contributions.
Some writers had been involved concerning the development of streaming, as a result of they misplaced out on residuals that conventional tv reveals paid after they had been re-run. Preliminary compensation and residual pay for big-budget streaming tasks will improve as a part of the brand new contract.
The deal additionally consists of assurances that AI can’t write or rewrite literary materials and would require AI-generated supplies to be disclosed to writers.
Streaming providers, corresponding to Netflix, Disney+ and Max, additionally pledged to extend transparency about what number of hours sure packages are streamed.
The ratification of a brand new employment contract between the WGA and Hollywood’s greatest studios formally closes the chapter on one of many longest strikes within the union’s historical past. The writers’ strike started in Could and ended final month — after 148 days — following a tentative contract settlement made between the union and the AMPTP.
The writers’ strike, coupled with the continuing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, hobbled the leisure business’s potential to do enterprise over the previous couple of months. It was the primary time each SAG-AFTRA and the WGA went on strike collectively since 1960.