Big name writers join strike picket line

(9 May 2023) Tina Fey, Seth Meyers and Fred Armisen joined other writers on the picket line in New York Tuesday. The Writers Guild of America is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and less exclusivity on single projects. (May 9) (AP video: Aron Ranen)


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[Rockstar]

YouTube knows how to pay content creators but Netflix can’t figure it out

[NT-lqlq]

Seth is just wearing the clothes he wears on the show now 😂

[ezmereldagerard]

We appreciate and support the writers strike ! Writers deserve to be treated fairly paid equally and deserve to be recognized and acknowledged for their brilliant work.
SUPPORT THE WRITERS STRIKE NOW !

[mikeguilmette]

Writers: Pay us more or we won't write the sequel to The Godfather 4!

Writers: Do you know how much effort it takes to write a remake?

[jansean]

Writers are quite an elite group in the film and television work community already. The fact that their guild is continuing this strike over working “gig to gig” like the rest of us illustrates this. Productions have been slowed or delayed for months over these negotiations and other crew guilds and craftspeople have been out of work because of it. I’m not hearing anything about that.

[aang]

All this protest does is speed up the development of AI to use in writing.

[johndicksonkaraoke]

I support the strikers 🪧I’ll never cross the picket 🪧 line.

[RyanRoemer]

Put all those ungrateful writers in jail for bullying Jenna Ortega & hollywood needs to fire them and replace them with new writers that can do their jobs without complaing !!! I Don't Agree With The 2023 Writers Strike Of BS!!!!

[SusiFroggy]

I miss the shows. They have kept me sane in this insane MAGA infection.

[Exiled.New.Yorker]

Hold The Line, guys, Uncle Harlan Ellison is watching from whatever afterlife got harrassed into taking him. He told you he'd haunt you!

[caring-assoul_]

I don’t really miss any of these writers work, I don’t believe they deserve anymore money or deals, they make plenty already. I like my shows lgbt free anyway. It seems that’s all the garbage they’ve been writing shows around now🙄.

[vaporjoes]

Going to say no one cares.. way to much to stream. This may backfire on them. AI will eventually replace them anyway. That's what this is about.. job security.

[combomelt]

AMPTP
May 4, 2023
Mandatory Staffing and Duration of Employment
The WGA’s set of demands includes proposals regarding mandatory staffing and
guarantees of employment. These proposals require studios to staff a show with a
certain number of writers who will be hired for a specified period of time that may not
align with the creative process. If writing needs to be done, writers are hired, but these
proposals require the employment of writers whether they’re needed for the creative
process or not. While the WGA has argued that the proposal is necessary to
“preserv[e] the writers' room, ” it is in reality a hiring quota that is incompatible with the
creative nature of our industry. We don’t agree with applying a one-size-fits-all solution
to shows that are unique and different in their approach to creative staffing. Some
writers are the sole voice of a show and others work with only a small team. The WGA’s
proposals would preclude that.
Overall Numbers
The WGA claims that the companies’ most recent offer on minimum wage increases
adds up to approximately $41 million per year. Based on information available from the
pension and health plans, the companies’ offer on minimum wages is closer to $97
million per year. And that doesn’t take into account the additional outsized wage
increases and residual increases that the companies have offered.
Wage Increases
The first-year general wage increase currently on the table is the highest first-year
increase offered to the WGA in more than 25 years.
In addition, the companies have offered to create an entirely new category of rates that
will establish a new and higher floor for mid-level writers’ compensation.
Streaming Residuals
In the most recent contract (2020), the WGA negotiated a 46% increase in residuals for
streaming programs to take effect starting in 2022. In many cases, writers have only
recently begun to see these increases in their paychecks. Under the current formula for
a one-hour series produced for Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, a writer receives
$72, 000 in residuals for one episode over three years. Over five years, that amount
grows to $99, 000, and then to $114, 000 over seven years. The companies’ most recent
offer further improves on these amounts.
The WGA’s proposal on foreign streaming residuals represents a 200% increase over
current rates and treats foreign subscribers the same as domestic subscribers.
However, subscription fees vary from country to country, and in many countries, the
subscription fee is substantially less than it is in the U.S. Nevertheless, the companies
have recognized the importance of foreign streaming and have offered to increase the
residual.
These improvements apply to all types of streaming programs, including all
feature-length streaming programs.
The “Gig Economy”
The WGA claims that companies are treating television writers’ jobs as if they were part
of a “gig economy.” But employment as a writer has almost nothing in common with
standard “gigs” jobs. For one thing, most television writers are employed on a weekly or
episodic basis, with a guarantee of a specified number of weeks or episodes. It’s not
uncommon for writers to be guaranteed “all episodes produced.” Plus, writing jobs
come with substantial fringe benefits that are far superior to what many full-time
employees receive for working an entire year, including employer-paid health care,
employer-paid contributions into a pension plan and eligibility for a paid parental leave
program.
● Longer Employment: The WGA’s own published data shows that the median
number of weeks of employment for a writer engaged on a streaming series is
between 20 and 24. A staff writer engaged for 20-24 earns between $91, 000
and $109, 000 when paid at scale minimums. Writer-producers (the largest
category of television writers) earn between $150, 000 and $180, 000 when paid
at scale for that period of time. These figures assume the writer is paid at scale,
but frequently writers’ weekly fees regularly exceed these scale amounts. These
figures also do not include residuals or any additional fees writers receive for
scripts. Currently, writers earn more than $28, 000 for a half-hour script and more
than $41, 000 for a one-hour script.
● Benefits – Eligible writers participate in benefit plans that are the best in the
industry.
● Pension Benefits: A writer only needs to earn $5, 000 in a calendar year to
qualify for pension benefits, and vests in the Pension Plan after earning
only $5, 000 per calendar year over five years.
● Health Benefits: Another important factor to consider is that a writer only
needs to earn approximately $42, 000 over the course of 4 calendar
quarters to qualify for the WGA’s superior health insurance plan, which is
free with no participant premium. To put it another way, a staff writer who
works 8 weeks at the current weekly rate, or any other writer who works 5
weeks at the current weekly rate, will qualify for one year of free health
coverage under the best health plan in the industry. (A writer will be able
to qualify with even fewer weeks of employment under the companies’
most recent offer for outsized wage increases.)
● Paid Parental Leave Benefit: Any writer who qualifies for health benefits is
also entitled to a paid parental leave benefit.
AI
We’re creative companies and we value the work of creatives. The best stories are
original, insightful and often come from people's own experiences. AI raises hard,
important creative and legal questions for everyone. For example, writers want to be
able to use this technology as part of their creative process, without changing how
credits are determined, which is complicated given AI material can't be copyrighted. So
it's something that requires a lot more discussion, which we've committed to doing.
Also, it’s important to note that the current WGA Agreement already defines a “writer” to
exclude any “corporate or impersonal purveyor” of literary material, meaning that only a
“person” can be considered a writer and enjoy the terms and conditions of the Basic
Agreement. For example, AI-generated material would not be eligible for writing credit.
Script Fees for Staff Writers
The WGA makes light of the fact that the parties have a tentative agreement to pay staff
writers script fees on top of their regular weekly compensation. This is a proposal that
the WGA has pursued for decades. The companies’ agreement to the WGA’s proposal
means that a staff writer who writes an episode of a one-hour series will be paid an
additional $42, 000, which is the equivalent of 8 weeks of pay at the weekly rate and, by
itself, enough to qualify for one year of health coverage and paid parental leave
benefits.
Development Rooms
In response to the WGA’s concerns about development rooms, the companies agreed
to introduce an entirely new payment structure for writers employed before a firm
commitment has been made to produce a series. That offer included substantially
increased minimum rates for those working in development rooms (from $10, 798 to
$11, 554 per week in the first year of the agreement).
In addition, the companies agreed to pay writers employed before a firm commitment
has been made to produce the series a 15% premium on script fees and increase fees
for a pilot script by 50% for high budget SVOD series.
Non-Dramatic Programs (Appendix A)
The companies’ offer to establish a minimum weekly rate for comedy-variety programs
made for SVOD is unprecedented. The companies have never agreed to establish a
minimum rate for this type of programming under any other collective bargaining
agreement; the WGA would be the first.