May 01, (THEWILL) – Hollywood writers are set to go on strike if their demands are not met by the industry’s production companies.
The strike will be embarked upon on Tuesday, by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union representing television and film writers, if a deal can’t be reached with the likes of Walt Disney and Netflix.
According to Reuters, the writers are demanding a pay increase and changes to industry practices that they say force them to work more for less money.
The WGA also argued that they have suffered financially during the streaming TV boom. The guild added that the effects of the strike will affect writers from meeting and negotiating with work for the companies.
“Half of TV series writers now work at minimum salary levels, compared with one-third in the 2013-14 season, according to Guild statistics. Median pay for scribes at the higher writer/producer level has fallen 4% over the last decade.
“Artificial intelligence is another issue at the bargaining table. The WGA wants safeguards to prevent studios from using AI to generate new scripts from writers’ previous work. Writers also want to ensure they are not asked to rewrite draft scripts created by AI”, the report stated.
The WGA is negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which represents Amazon, Apple, CBS, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Last month, members of the guild voted 98% in favor of going on strike if no new deal is reached by midnight of Monday.
If the strike happens, it would be the first of its kind in 15 years. The last WGA strike which took place in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days.
