Over 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on a Writers’ Strike for the first time since 2007.
The strike could potentially halt production of numerous television shows, and may delay the start of new seasons later this year.
The union leadership has stated that the studios’ responses to their proposals have been wholly insufficient, and the strike is necessary due to the existential crisis that writers are facing.
While union members will be on strike as of 3 am EDT Tuesday, the WGA has said it will not set up picket lines until Tuesday afternoon.
The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) is negotiating on behalf of studio management, and they have responded by stating that they are willing to improve on their offer but are not willing to meet all of the union’s demands.
The main points of contention are “mandatory staffing” and “duration of employment.” These are Guild proposals that would require companies to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period, whether or not they are needed.
Management’s negotiating committee has stated that member companies want to reach a mutually beneficial deal that supports writers and the industry’s health and longevity.
They also want to avoid hardship for thousands of employees who rely on the industry for their livelihoods.
Given the distance between the two sides, this strike could potentially last a long time. The last strike, which began in November 2007, lasted for 100 days until February 2008. Negotiators broke off talks more than three hours before the strike deadline on Monday night, and they did not schedule any talks for Tuesday.