Writers Guild vs. Hollywood Studios: Contract Negotiations Heat Up

The day before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) meeting with Hollywood studios and streamers for contract negotiations, the union warned its members that management might not be ready to compromise. The WGA negotiating committee referred to past strikes and called on studio bosses to come to the meeting with a new playbook and be open-minded enough to accept a fair deal.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers responded, calling the rhetoric from the WGA unfortunate. Their only goal is to get people back to work.

Friday’s meeting will be the first since calling the strike on May 2 that they have met. The WGA is approaching it gingerly, challenging the studios to make a fair deal and repair some of the damage done to workers in the industry.

The writers’ strike has now endured 94 days, and WGA members refuse to move an inch in their resolve to keep bargaining until a just deal can be reached. Writers remain as steadfast in their optimism about the upcoming meeting as they dare hope for from the AMPTP with regard to openness of mind. Friday’s conversation proved decidedly narrow in scope, but even that apparently open step seems likely to at least somewhat prolong negotiations.