2023 Writers Guild of America strike facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 2023 Writers Guild of America strike |
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| Part of 2023 Hollywood labor disputes | |||
Picket line formed by writers on strike in New York City on location of Daredevil: Born Again. The production of Severance was shut down due to the strike.
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| Date | May 2 – September 27, 2023 (4 months and 25 days, or 148 days) | ||
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| Resulted in | Tentative agreement reached on September 24, 2023 | ||
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The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action that began on May 2, 2023 and ended on September 27, 2023. At that time, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
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Issues in the strike
One of the main points in the labor dispute was the residuals from streaming media; the WGA claimed that AMPTP's share of such residuals had cut much of the writers' average incomes compared to a decade ago.
Writers also wanted artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, to be used only as a tool that can help with research or facilitate script ideas and not as a tool to replace them.
Another disputed issue was "mandatory staffing" and "duration of employment", terms that the WGA wanted to be added to their contracts. This would require all shows to be staffed with a minimum number of writers for a minimum amount of time, "whether needed or not" per the AMPTP.
Another important proposal that the WGA was advocating for was to ensure each member of a writing team received their own pension and their own health care funds.
The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike was the longest interruption to American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the second longest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed since the strike of 1988, which lasted for 153 days.
Impact
The lack of ongoing film and television productions resulted in some studios having to close doors, or reduce staff. Numerous other areas within the global entertainment ecosystem were impacted by the strike action.
Negotiations
Both Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass and Governor of California Gavin Newsom offered to help mediate an end to the strikes.
Between September 20 and 24, a series of promising negotiations between the WGA and four prominent studio CEOs were held, which ended in a tentative agreement. Following a vote, the union leadership voted to end the strike on September 27, 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Huelga del Sindicato de Guionistas de Estados Unidos de 2023 para niños
