Hollywood’s writers are able to pick up their pens again as their nearly five-month-long strike against industry studios comes to a close.
The Writer’s Guild of America West (WGAW) announced that its walkout is ending at 12:01am Pacific Time on Wednesday (Sept. 27) after its leadership unanimously agreed to an “exceptional” new deal. Now all that’s left is for the WGAW’s 11,500 members to ratify the contract.
The union published a summary (pdf) of the agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)—which will extend to May 1, 2026—on its website. With increased pay, curbs on AI use, and a better deal on residuals from streaming, it’s no wonder that the WGA negotiations committee is calling the outcome of their talks a victory.
Here are the details of what Hollywood writers have bargained for, and will likely vote to secure.
Writers gained protections against AI use
🤖 Under the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA)—a term referring to the collective bargaining deal that covers the majority of WGA members’ work—AI is not permitted to “write or rewrite literary material.” In short, AI cannot be used to replace writers.
🤖 AI-generated writing also cannot be considered “source material,” and writers cannot be forced to use AI to carry out their work, though they reserve the right to choose to use the technology, with the company’s consent, and according to its policies on issues like privacy, security, and intellectual property rights.
🤖 Employers will be required to disclose if they give writers material that was generated by AI.
🤖 The WGA “reserves the right to assert” that training AI models using writers’ work is prohibited under the MBA and other laws.
Writers will also get a bigger slice of the streaming residuals pie
🎞️ A new system has been established to determine writers’ pay and bonuses from streaming. The small sums writers used to receive from shows—even if they were a smash-hit—were a major factor motivating the strikes.
🎞️ Specifics on payment from residuals will be based on a number of factors including viewership numbers (with foreign and domestic viewers accounted for) and the size of a production’s budget.
🎞️ The WGA said that if a streaming project has a budget of $30 million or more, writers can now expect an 18% increase in initial pay and 26% increase in residual base pay.
🎞️ Studios will also be mandated to be transparent about streaming data—something they’ve been reticent about in the past. The WGA will now have access to confidential statistics on viewership, information that could prove a game changer in future bargaining.
Overall, Hollywood writers will be getting a pay raise
There will be a 12.5% increase in pay for writers over the three years of the deal. An immediate 5% bump will go into effect once the deal is ratified, followed by a 4% and 3.5% increase in the subsequent years.
The writers room now has minimum staffing requirements
Shows will be required to staff a certain number of writers, and employ them for a guaranteed period of time, based on the length of its season. For example, a show already greenlit for six episodes or fewer will be required to employ at least three writers and three writer-producers, who must be guaranteed at least 20 weeks of employment or be employed for the duration of a “post-greenlight room.”
One big number: $233 million
The estimated value of the new agreement with the AMPTP is $233 million per year. The figure is more than twice as big as the proposal studios submitted on May 1, which was estimated to be worth $86 million per year. The WGA said its initial proposal, also submitted May 1, had an estimated value of $429 million per year.
The full 2023 WGA Memorandum of Agreement, which is 94 pages long, can be read here (pdf).
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