The Writers Guild Strike: What Gives?

"The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West and the Council of the Writers Guild of America East, acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Tuesday, May 2."

That was an official statement from the Writers Guild of America after six weeks of negotiations with multiple industry-leading corporations. It comes after years of economic disparity between writers and the productions they work on, especially in the age of streaming. However, it is not the first time it has happened. The Writers Guild spawned a strike in November 2007 after negotiations fell flat, lasting for 100 days and sidelining hundreds of productions from their schedules. Despite this, many are unaware of what writers ask the industry for and why they are striking. To better understand the careers at stake in the strike, we must first ask how we arrived at such a pivotal point in the entertainment industry and what the Writers Guild of America represents.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) represents thousands of members who write content for motion pictures, television, news, and online media. According to the WGA, their members "create everything from big-budget movies and independent films to television dramas, sitcoms, and comedy/variety shows; from daytime television to nonfiction/”reality” television to broadcast/cable/streaming news and online media; from podcasts, web series, and animation to reality TV shows and documentaries." The Guild represents a unionized base for fair wages and creative protection, often heading vital changes to contract renewals across the industry. As a result, they push hard for thousands of people trying to make their writing a career, leading to current and previous strikes and outcries towards production companies.

So what was the WGA asking for? Several proposals backed by the Guild and its members. They want a TV staffing minimum to ensure job security for more writers in the industry. They want a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment per season. They want streaming residuals that factor in the success of productions. They want to create a new minimum tier for writer-producers 25% higher than the current highest jobs, story editors and executive story editors. They want regulation of artificial intelligence in the writing process. According to an official WGA proposals chart, it entails that "AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can't be used as source material; and MBA-covered material can’t be used to train AI."

Unfortunately, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing corporations involved in the production industry, rejected or minimally countered most of the WGA's proposals. To many, it is a sign of the people behind large corporations ignoring thousands of livable and enjoyable career choices. It is also a sign of AI's rise in power over corporate executives, as the AMPTP offered annual meetings to discuss technological advancements in place of the WGA's requests for AI-regulated writing. In doing so, they are stripping power from some of the most creative minds in the world and placing a massive question mark over every creative writing endeavor, corporate or otherwise.

However, it is important to point out why writers would ask for more pay. Many argue that, much like directors or actors, the industry pays writers the same as them. However, the truth lies far from that. For a half-hour network prime-time pilot, a director earns $80,532 for 14 days of work and $5,752 for every day they go over. According to the 2020 Schedule of Minimums, however, an average TV screenwriter in the WGA can make anywhere between $3,964 to $5,059 per week, depending on specific circumstances. Over the known two-week period the Directors Guild of America details, writers would be paid around 87% less than their counterparts. Now, those wages are more than livable over a year. However, many members of the film industry do not have the luxury.

For the longest time, the industry placed the producers and directors of any given product on a pedestal, often viewed as the people behind them. However, the writers work diligently to write and rewrite the script every crew member reads before, during, and after shooting to create the best product possible for consumers and the companies they represent. The strike is a tipping point after several years of unrest among industry members and leaders. The entertainment industry is not the same as it was in 2007. The contracts writers sign should reflect that. Writers want a full-time career because they love pushing their skills to new levels. I hope all sides resolve the situation respectfully because I aspire to be a writer, and that now is put into question depending on the corporate response to the WGA strike.

Have more faith in writers and give them what they deserve before you lose one of the strongest creative resources in the world and cripple the entertainment industry.

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Photo Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters

Source Credit: Variety, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, 2020 Schedule of Minimums