After 145 days on strike, the Writer’s Guild has a tentative agreement. After all the stress and strife. the deal is still “subject to drafting final contract language” but the strike is anticipated to end quickly.
What the strike has meant to Culver City won’t be easily quantified; the many hundreds of union members who took on walking the picket lines in front of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Amazon Studios have become a part of the local landscape since May 2, 2023. The many other contiguous parts of a film production, from craft services to make up and set design, have all been unwillingly idle too, in respect for the need for a fair contract.
The Writer’s Guild of America posted on it’s ‘Contract2023’ site – “What we have won in this contract — most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2nd — is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days. It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.
“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.
“Immediately after those leadership votes, which are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday if the language is settled, we will provide a comprehensive summary of the deal points and the Memorandum of Agreement. We will also convene meetings where members will have the opportunity to learn more about and assess the deal before voting on ratification.
“To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then. But we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing. Instead, if you are able, we encourage you to join the SAG-AFTRA picket lines this week.”
Just the week after the Autumnal Equinox, what has been called “Hot Labor Summer” is still going strong, with the United Auto Workers out on strike, and KaiserPermanente employees looking to walkout next month.
Judith Martin-Straw
