Major takeaways from Hollywood writers’ WGA contract

Hollywood writers are largely celebrating the Writers Guild of America’s new minimum basic agreement as the strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the coalition of major studios, comes to an end after 148 days. The new contract still needs membership approval — members will vote between Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 — but it has been approved by union leadership. The contract ensures regulations for artificial intelligence usage, minimum staffing for writer rooms, as well as residual compensation to writers working on streaming movies and shows.

“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the WGA negotiating committee said on Sunday. A summary of the agreement has been published online; it’s a simplified version of the actual document.

Susan Schurman, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University’s Labor Studies and Employment Relations department, told Polygon that the WGA got an “excellent” agreement: “They got much of what they were looking for in terms of compensation.”

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It’s a big moment for the WGA — and all union members — as “hot strike summer” transitions into fall. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ Hollywood actors are still on strike as SAG-AFTRA’s video game performers enter their own bargaining sessions with a strike authorization in hand; WGA’s strike is a signal to those workers that unions (and withholding labor) work to secure better, more fair deals. With everything from AI use and compensation to transparency and wage increases, the WGA deal may be used to set a standard of expectations for other creative industries, so let’s break it down.

Here are some key points from the WGA Agreement.

AI

Although artificial intelligence is not new, it became the hot topic in 2023 when generative tools, which were easier to access and use, replaced the hype about the metaverse. We’re still in the “early days” of national AI regulation in the United States, according to the New York Times. Industries, and companies within those industries, are left to figure the technology out for themselves — a process that’s ongoing.

Hollywood’s new AI contract is a pioneer in the adoption of AI-wide rules. Though Hollywood studios first rejected the union’s early proposals regarding generative AI, the WGA eventually won protections for writers concerning the use of generative AI. Importantly, the contract between unions and writers does It is not clear how to get there.Instead of restricting AI-generated content in its entirety, the regulation should regulate AI’s training and the crediting to writers.

“The technology can’t be used to write or rewrite or produce ‘original source material,’ Schurman said. “The new contract also prevents the use of writers to ‘train AI,’ which forces writers to undermine their own role.”

Here’s how the WGA sums it up:

AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA, meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.

A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and provided that the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) when performing writing services.

The Company should inform any writer that the material they have received was generated or contains AI-generated materials.

The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.

In the formal memorandum, or contract, there are two practical examples of the contract. Studio could, for example, give the AI-generated script to the writer and ask them to revise it. The studio would still have to pay and credit the writer as the author of the script. If another writer gets assigned to rewrite the first writer’s script, they’ll get paid and credited for a rewrite.

If the company provided the writer with some AI-generated written material for the writer to make into a story and script, the AI-generated material won’t be considered the original source — the writer’s work will.

Transparency of Streamer and Remainder

Schurman, who helped mediate the SAG-AFTRA merger in 2012, said compensation for streaming platforms was the union’s most important issue in many ways — at least, until AI cropped up. “Writers have not benefited from streaming productions in the past due to the fact that, unlike regular television and movie production, the streamers (e.g. Netflix, Disney+, etc.) [have] not been required to reveal viewership data,” she said.

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The lack of transparency reduces writers’ ability to negotiate fair compensation. While the new rules don’t require the streamers, like Netflix, to disclose numbers to the public, they will provide “the total number of hours streamed” domestically and internationally for “self-produced high budget streaming programs,” according to the WGA’s summary. With that transparency comes viewership-based residuals: “[P]rojects written under the new MBA on the largest streaming services would receive a bonus of $9,031 for a half-hour episode, $16,415 for a one-hour episode, or $40,500 for a streaming feature over $30 million in budget,” the WGA wrote. New residual structures will be implemented for all projects released between Jan. 1 and 2024.

Foreign streaming residuals were also bumped up: “Netflix’s 3-year foreign residual will increase from the current $18,684 for a one-hour episode to $32,830.”

“This changes with the new contract and will mean that the WGA has real data on viewership of streaming shows, increasing writers’ ability to demand both compensation from writing but also residuals,” Schurman added.

Writers’ room minimum

Writers rooms have been getting smaller, writers said earlier this year, as shows transitioned to “mini-rooms,” which are basically scaled-down writers rooms. A traditional writers’ room has around eight writers. In a mini-room, two to three writers assist the showrunner with script writing at a lower rate. This keeps costs down, but it is a major disadvantage to the writers — fewer jobs and worse pay. This new MBA mandates minimum writers’ rooms You can also find out more about the following: minimum contract lengths.

There are differences between the development and post-greenlight room. (Development rooms are where writers develop shows before they head into the next phase, “post-greenlight rooms,” which are for after the show is approved for production.) While development rooms can be important for developing shows, they may also mean writers will only work for a short time. Under the MBA, however, all hired writers in these rooms must have ten consecutive weeks’ employment. Shows with 13 episodes or more must employ six minimum writers. At least three of them should be writer-producers. These staff members need a guaranteed 20 weeks “or the entire duration of the post-greenlight room, whichever is shorter,” of pay. Two writer-producers who worked in the development room of the show must be recruited for the writers room after the greenlight.

These terms will be a boon for early-career writers, as they’ll be kept on production for that minimum time period — the experience of which is essential for career advancement.

Pay increases

WGA/AMPTP Contract increases minimum wages by 5%, 4%, and 3.5%, respectively, in 2023. The MBA Overview outlines the different rates based on role. The pay increase will be immediately visible for staff writers, but story editors and executive editors’ salaries will not change until after the ratification.

It’s not wildly off from WGA’s proposal from May, where it asked the AMPTP for 6%-5%-5%. AMPTP had offered 4%, 3% and 2%.

Other industries affected

There’s research that shows successful strikes can be “contagious,” Jake Rosenfeld, union expert and Washington University sociology professor, said in a Washington University news release from September. The United Auto Workers’ strike, he said, could have an impact on other labor actions. “But the strikes have to be successful,” he added at the time. “We have ongoing strikes out west in Los Angeles with writers, screen actors and hotel workers that unions are also watching closely. If these strikes fail, that could dampen enthusiasm for further action just as quickly as a successful strike could increase enthusiasm.”

Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

WGA’s successful strike could impact other industries’ union efforts, showing a path forward where labor actions are worth the effort and sacrifice. SAG-AFTRA actors on strike and the union’s voice actors in negotiations will certainly look to WGA’s win for inspiration.

Schurman said the WGA win will “probably” impact other union movements: “Many of the issues in SAG-AFTRA’s bargaining are the same or similar to the WGA’s.” WGA’s contract could help set a minimum standard for several issues that are relevant to different creative industries.

Schedule of TV shows and movies

The new contract will have an impact on the release of TV shows and films, even though it is not as critical as fair treatment for those who produce them. Hollywood’s production continues to be disrupted by the strike of actors, while writers are allowed to resume work. Many shows have been paused for an indefinite period of time, such as The Last of Us, American Horror Story, Millions, Abbott Elementary, Stranger Things” Yellowjackets. Writers can start new scripts, but there won’t be actors to film.

The popularity of late-night talk programs and weekly TV shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, however, actors won’t show up as guests.

During the WGA Strike, a number of films were put on hold. Captain America Brave New World, Dune: Part two” Fantastic Four. Writers can now get to work on scripts, but production still takes longer without actors.