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The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike that ran from May 2 to September 27, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). With a duration of 148 days, the strike is tied with the 1960 strike as the second longest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed, only behind the 1988 strike (153 days). Alongside the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which continued until November, it was part of a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes. Both strikes contributed to the biggest interruption to the American film and television industries since the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of ongoing film and television productions resulted in some studios having to close doors or reduce staff. The strike also jeopardized long-term contracts created during the media streaming boom: big studios could terminate production deals with writers through force majeure clauses after 90 days, saving them millions of dollars. In addition, numerous other areas within the global entertainment ecosystem were impacted by the strike action, including the VFX industry and prop making studios. Following 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. Its combined impact with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike resulted in the loss of 45,000 jobs, and "an estimated $6.5 billion" loss to the economy of Southern California. Issues in the strike One of the main focus points in the labor dispute is the residuals from streaming media; the WGA claims that AMPTP's share of such residuals has 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. The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath saw major reductions in the workforce and cancellations of multiple film and television productions to save money on basic residuals and music licensing costs, though Apple and Amazon remained outliers. The ensuing fall of "Peak TV" created worsening conditions for writers, as well as actors. On May 2, 2020, the latest Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) became the collective bargaining agreement that covered most of the work done by WGA writers. The Minimum Basic Agreement was an agreement that established a minimum wage for television and film writers. In television, the Minimum Basic Agreement only applied to those who wrote for broadcast television shows and not for streaming television. This was very clear when comparing late-night talk shows that were produced for broadcast television, such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert by CBS, versus The Problem with Jon Stewart, produced for streaming by Apple TV+. The writers who worked for The Problem were not covered by the MBA and therefore had to negotiate individually with the streaming company for their pay, and as a result, they were paid less than writers who wrote for The Late Show while doing the same amount of work. This pattern held true with other shows in the two categories. The MBA expired on May 1, 2023. The WGA estimated that its proposals would yield writers about US$429 million a year, whereas the AMPTP's offer would yield $86 million. One disputed issue is the Guild wanting requirements for "mandatory staffing" and "duration of employment" terms to be added to their contract, which 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 is advocating for is to ensure each member of a writing team receives their own pension and their own health care funds. The AMPTP rejected this proposal and did not offer a counterproposal. At the same time, there was a tentative agreement between the WGA and AMPTP to have 0.5% of negotiated minimums for all WGA minimums shifted into pensions and health funds. Timeline of negotiations and strike activity April 2023 On April 18, 2023, 97.85% of members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted to go on strike if they failed to reach a satisfactory agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major film and television studios in Hollywood, by May 1. The AMPTP engaged in lengthy negotiations with the WGA on behalf of Amazon Studios (as well as MGM Holdings), Apple Studios, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), but failed to reach a deal before the mandated deadline. May 2023 As a result, the leadership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) unanimously approved a strike on the eve of May 2, the first of its kind since the 2007–2008 strike fifteen years prior. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the WGA had set some prospective rules for writers during the strike. The Writers Guild stated that "writers cannot do any writing, revising, pitching, or discussing future projects with companies that are members of the AMPTP." The Writers Guild also stated that fiction podcasts that are produced by companies against which the Guild and its members are striking must stop production. The Guild said that they hoped that writers of animated series not covered by the Writers Guild but by the Animation Guild would seek advice from the Writers Guild on whether or not their work as a writer was counter to the activities of the strike and, if so, to cease such work for the duration of the strike. The Guild noted that while they cannot punish non-Guild writers who write for companies against which the union is striking, they promise to bar such writers from future Guild membership. The WGA instructed members to begin picketing on May 2, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Some places that the WGA has picketed include AMC Networks, Amazon/Culver Studios, MGM, CBS Radford, CBS Television City, Disney, 20th Century Studios, Lionsgate, Starz, Netflix, Paramount, MTV, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. (including its Burbank division), 30 Rock/NBCUniversal, Broadway Stages, HBO, Silvercup Studios, Steiner Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront. During the strike, the WGA instructed writers facing financial hardship due to the strike to apply to the Entertainment Community Fund. The Entertainment Community Fund helps people in the entertainment industry with financial trouble find affordable housing and maintain health care and senior care coverage. On May 10, 2023, it was reported that writers had pledged $1.7 million to the Entertainment Community Fund. Among the prominent donors were showrunners and producers J. J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Adam McKay, Ryan Murphy, .... Discover the Smut Writers popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Smut Writers books.