2023 Writers Guild of America strike

From May 2 to September 27, 2023, the <a href="/facts/Writers_Guild_of_America/l22RPXPx">Writers Guild of America</a> (WGA)—representing 11,500 <a href="/facts/Screenwriters/nM1nfAto">screenwriters</a>—went on <a href="/facts/Strike_action/aCsc26tR">strike</a> over a labor dispute with the <a href="/facts/Alliance_of_Motion_Picture_and_Television_Producers/PwTA14zg">Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers</a> (AMPTP). Lasting 148 days, the strike is tied with the <a href="/facts/1960_Writers_Guild_of_America_strike/0GcDHlTR">1960 strike</a> as the second-longest labor stoppage actioned by the WGA, only behind the <a href="/facts/1988_Writers_Guild_of_America_strike/Mk5SlqjL">1988 strike</a> (153 days). Alongside the <a href="/facts/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike/ltMY6mHc">2023 SAG-AFTRA strike</a>, which lasted between July and November, it was part of a series of <a href="/facts/2023_Hollywood_labor_disputes/hrpQlgkI">broader Hollywood labor disputes</a>. Both strikes contributed to the biggest interruption to the American film and television industries since the <a href="/facts/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_television_in_the_United_States/2kSJvjLH">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.
The strike caused significant economic impact: some studios halted ongoing or future productions or reduced some staff, while certain production agreements were jeopardized as some studios were able to use <a href="/facts/Force_majeure/TD2wx0X4">force majeure</a> clauses to terminate those agreements. Strike action also affected other areas of the entertainment ecosystem, including the VFX industry and prop making studios.
After a tentative agreement, union leadership voted to end the strike on September 27, 2023. On October 9, the WGA membership officially ratified the contract with 99% of WGA members voting in favor of it. The WGA secured increases to minimum wage, final compensation, pension and health fund rates, improvements to terms related to length of employment and size of writing teams, and increases to <a href="/facts/Residual_(entertainment_industry)/uXjz3o6S">residual payments</a> for domestic and foreign <a href="/facts/Streaming_media/4rPhSq0Y">streaming</a> works. The union also secured regulation of <a href="/facts/Generative_artificial_intelligence/ykT3GGyT">artificial intelligence</a> (AI), prohibiting exploitation of writers' material to train AI models, produce <a href="/facts/Synthetic_media/5SIGFwyM">digital recreations</a>, and efforts to use AI to reduce writers or their pay.

2023 Writers Guild of America strike open-in-new

2023 Writers Guild of America strike