The WGA and Hollywood’s major employers are set to resume contract talks on Wednesday as the sides aim to make progress in sorting through complicated compensation issues and averting a strike.
Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are expected to sit down again in person Wednesday morning at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. The WGA had planned to take a two-week break after March 31 to begin the process of a strike authorization vote, with talks tabbed to resume the week of April 17. The guild’s current three-year contract expires on May 1.
A rep for the AMPTP declined comment. The WGA did not immedately respond to a request for comment.
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Writers are pushing for big compensation gains in this round of contract bargaining as inflation and massive shifts in the TV industry have put a major squeeze on writer income in recent years. The WGA is also insisting that the studios address concerns around the rise of “mini rooms” in TV series production, which employ fewer writers for shorter periods of time.
The WGA on Monday initiated its strike authorization vote notification to members. The guild needs the advance approval of membership before its leadership can initiate a widespread strike against Hollywood’s largest employers. Voting will be held online from the evening of April 11 through noon PT on April 17. The two-week break in the talks was scheduled to facilitate WGA member meetings and other organizational activities around the strike authorization vote.
The WGA talks are also unfolding as the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA wait in the wings to negotiate new contracts. Both of those guilds face a June 30 contract expiration deadline. It’s understood that the DGA is stepping up its backchannel efforts with the AMPTP as that guild also has major compensation and working-conditions issues to put on the table this time around.
The prospect of the WGA and AMPTP sitting down again this week was first reported by Deadline.