Scared of Your Favorite Marvel/DC Movie Getting Delayed? Writers Strike Gets a Positive Update
The Writers Guild of America went on strike and the projects were put on hold as the writers’ strike was carried out to request their rights, including wage hikes, viewership-based streaming residuals, the preservation of the writer’s room, etc., fans all over the world have been concerned and a little stressed. The writers’ strike has already lasted 102 days, which is longer than the previous writers’ strike, which took place in 2007–2008.
The 2023 WGA strike is currently the fourth-longest in WGA history, trailing only the strikes in 1988, 1960, and 1973, according to reports. The one that lasted the longest, for 153 days, was in 1988. However, there is good news for the supporters of the writers, who not only want them to obtain their rights and support them wholeheartedly but also want it to happen quickly so that the writers can resume work on the already postponed Marvel and DC projects.
Negotiations began between the Writers Guild and AMPTP
According to various reports, on August 1st, the Writers Guild of America met with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers President Carol Lombardini for the first time in three months since the strike started, after she invited the guild’s negotiating committee to meet to discuss the terms of resumption of bargaining.
The hopes of the writers’ demands being met were quashed as the guild accused the AMPTP of continuing to play by the tried-anti-union playbook. They said in a statement,
“As of now, there is no agreement on these items because the AMPTP said they needed to consult with their member studios before moving forward. Our intention after the confidential meeting was to send a simple email to you all letting you know we would get back to you when there was more specific information about resuming negotiations.”
The statement further described the terms and conditions that were discussed in the confidential meeting after the guild’s representative stated that the studios have been leaking the information to the press, so it’s only justified if they tell their people what exactly happened.
The statement also stressed that the President of AMPTP pointed out how people just want to get back to work and, in response, the guild said, “We agree, with the caveat that those conditions that have made writers’ jobs increasingly untenable must first be addressed.”
Carol Lombardini reaches out with a counterproposal to WGA to resume bargaining
On Thursday, it was once again reported that President Lombardini had reached out to the guild once again and this time it was to resume the bargaining. The guild mentioned,
“Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies. We expect the AMPTP to respond to WGA proposals.”
Now, after receiving the counterproposal from the studios, the guild mentioned in a statement that their negotiating committee has received a counterproposal from AMPTP and they will evaluate their offer and, after deliberation, go back to them with the WGA’s response next week.
They also mentioned,
“Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves. That will be our approach, at least for the time being, until there is something of significance to report, or unless management uses the media or industry surrogates to try to influence the narrative.”
What are the key issues of the Writers’ strike?
The strike that has surpassed 100 days has key issues including pay raises, viewership-based streaming residuals, the preservation of the writer’s room, through minimum staffing and guaranteed days of employment, and guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts. WGA is also working to ensure that the health plan and members’ eligibility for health coverage remain unaffected by the strike.
Deadline has reported that even if they reach a tentative agreement, it would still take the strike to end since the agreement would have to be approved by the WGA West and WGA East’s governing bodies and ratified by the members.
The WGA strike was followed by the SAG-AFTRA strike on July 14th which has also affected the industry, with projects on hold, delayed releases, and no promotional work being in place to promote a project. The SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland shared on Wednesday, “The AMPTP — the organization that bargains on behalf of the studios, networks, and streamers — refused to negotiate with us fairly, and has not contacted us to resume talks.”
The strike is in its fourth week now and is supported by a lot of celebrities.
Source: Variety
