#wga strike wins 2023

[thefirsthogokage]

The. Deal. Is. So. Good.

Couldn't get the link to the side-by-side of the WGA offer, the AMPTP counter offer from May, and the final deal, because it's a document to download and too many pictures to take for this post that probably wouldn't be legible, but it's in this tweet (click the link below the tweet to go to said tweet):

Don't forget,the fight isn't over for SAG-AFTRA and next year, contracts are up again for IATSE, including The Animation Guild.

If you're a fan of movies, tv, and animation, keep helping the guilds fight the good fight!

Also, please support the other unions that are out their now fighting their own fights including Amazon workers, Local 11 in LA, and Flight Attendants!

And of course, big thanks to strike hero Drew Carey for paying for probably THOUSANDS of meals for striking writers in LA these past five months.

Congratulations WGA and Pre-WGA for your amazing wins with this contract!

[fans4wga]

Strike Support Declining - Here's how you can continue to support the writers

Since the WGA strike started on May 2, the public has shown immense support for the writers—sending food, snacks, drinks, and encouragement from across the world all the way to Los Angeles, New York, and other picketing locations.

But loud and vocal strike support—in the news and in public spaces—is notably declining the longer the strike goes on. So we're bringing you a few ways to show writers, studios, and fellow fans: we're still here, and we still stand with the WGA.

1. Post on Twitter (and other social media sites)

You might think social media noise won't be noticed by the studios, but it CAN encourage individual WGA members—and slowly but surely put pressure on the studios to make a fair deal.

If you follow WGA members such as Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything), John Rogers (Leverage, Librarians), Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher) [and many many more you can find through their following lists], tell them you support them! Hashtag #IStandWithTheWGA #DoTheWriteThing and tell them that you and your fandom are prepared to support them as long as the strike lasts; that they deserve to have their demands met and you're with them all the way. Boost morale however and whenever you can!

Likewise, actively push back against misinformation/disinformation. See a TikTok claiming that all Hollywood writers are filthy rich and we shouldn't vocally support them? Correct it with well-sourced citations from the WGA, published news articles, and stories from those affected (like the time a writer on FX's The Bear attended the an awards show with his bank account balance in the negative, only to then win an award for Best Comedy Series—proving that good writers on award-winning shows still cannot make a living!)

Remember you can always link to Adam Conover's excellent explanation of WGA demands versus studio refusals, tweeted here.

2. Donate or boost fundraisers

You might be surprised to learn that the picketing locations are not always parties! Sometimes themed pickets are fun, and fandoms and celebrities occasionally are able to fundraise for a food truck or ice cream truck at picketing locations. However, that is the EXCEPTION and not the norm. Writers are asking for food & drinks at many locations.

There are many funds to donate to, and it can be overwhelming to pick one! But one that could use your support RIGHT NOW is the CBS Radford picket line:

-If you're in LA, you can bring food and snacks directly to that picket line (or get food deliveries sent there, with instructions to be given to the strike captain on duty.) Strike locations are available on the WGA West website and are updated there.

-Or there's a pizza fund for the strike locations (unfortunately Venmo is a US-only donation option)

-If you're not in LA, donate to the Entertainment Community Fund to support TV and film workers affected by the strike.

-More tips on donating to the strike in this great article!

-Lots of fandoms are organizing donations on their own, for instance the Our Flag Means Death fundraiser on Paypal (updated 30 July 2023 with new link) (available internationally). Check to see if your fandom has started a fundraiser... or start one yourself to show your support! We're happy to give tips on organizing your fandom!

As always, please boost this post and any and all well-sourced information that comes from the WGA or its members. We're happy to fact-check anything you send our way too.

[thaumatologist]

working timeline of (us) hot labor summer wins

May 1, 2023: rail companies grant paid sick leave after public and political pressure

May 2, 2023: wga east and west go on strike

May 25, 2023: delta flight attendants begin holding rallies calling for flight attendant union (delta being the only major american airline without one)

June 15, 2023: three labor unions (iam, ibt, and afa-cwa) rally at delta stakeholder meeting in an effort to stop delta union-busting

June 24, 2023: teamsters amazon goes on strike at DAX8 in palmdale, ca

July 13, 2023: sag-aftra goes on strike

July 20, 2023: iatse threatens strike on broadway, and pressure lands them contract wins

August 22, 2023: threat of ups teamsters strike enough to land massive gains in new contract (even for part time employees)

August 25, 2023: nlrb passes down a ruling requiring any company that participates in union-busting to immediately recognize and bargain with the union

September 13, 2023: marvel vfx workers unanimously vote to unionize with iatse

September 16, 2023 (and prior): just a whole lot in cali (fast food minimum wage raise, striking workers eligible for unemployment assistance, five paid sick days, raising healthcare workers' minimum wage to $25, and more)

September 25, 2023: wga reaches tentative deal with amptp after historic 146 day strike

September 26, 2023: uaw strike receives historic backing from sitting president joe biden

September 26, 2023: sag-aftra authorizes strike against video game makers to bring pressure to negotiating table

[cyarskj1899]

working timeline of (us) hot labor summer wins

May 1, 2023: rail companies grant paid sick leave after public and political pressure

May 2, 2023: wga east and west go on strike

May 25, 2023: delta flight attendants begin holding rallies calling for flight attendant union (delta being the only major american airline without one)

June 15, 2023: three labor unions (iam, ibt, and afa-cwa) rally at delta stakeholder meeting in an effort to stop delta union-busting

June 24, 2023: teamsters amazon goes on strike at DAX8 in palmsdale, ca

July 13, 2023: sag-aftra goes on strike

July 20, 2023: iatse threatens strike on broadway, and pressure lands them contract wins

August 22, 2023: threat of ups teamsters strike enough to land massive gains in new contract (even for part time employees)

August 25, 2023: nlrb passes down a ruling requiring any company that participates in union-busting to immediately recognize and bargain with the union

September 13, 2023: marvel vfx workers unanimously vote to unionize with iatse

September 16, 2023 (and prior): just a whole lot in cali (fast food minimum wage raise, striking workers eligible for unemployment assistance, five paid sick days, raising healthcare workers' minimum wage to $25, and more)

September 25, 2023: wga reaches tentative deal with amptp after historic 146 day strike

September 26, 2023: uaw strike receives historic backing from sitting president joe biden

September 26, 2023: sag-aftra authorizes strike against video game makers to bring pressure to negotiating table

Strikes and unions work okay

[tgm-zeej]

Love that 2023 is becoming the year of ‘actually? fuck this.’

WGA, SAGAFTA, and UPS have come across my dash today, but there was the Canadian Federal Worker’s Strike earlier this year and the various ongoing airline strikes in Europe too. Granted that I don’t know a lot about those last two in particular, but I find it somewhat telling that many of the industries whose workers were particularly abused during the pandemic are now striking. And they should. They did their jobs to pull people through the most strenuous parts of lockdown and got dumped on for it, both by their higher ups and the worst parts of the general public. 

Big changes move a little slower than we’d like sometimes, but one bright spot in the abyssal pit that was the pandemic is a rather urgent sense of working class unity. It’s not universal, obviously—bootlickers have always and will always exist—but the pandemic really spotlighted how much being working class sucks and how needless that suffering is. You used to have a blue collar vs. white collar animosity running through any discussions about stuff like this, and that has taken a very firm backseat post-lockdown.

A lot of it is down to the fact that a lot of people had time to sit around and learn, even if they weren’t actively trying to. They saw it. They saw people being treated like garbage by their jobs in every sector of employment. They experienced—in a very personal and organic way—the soulless indifference to human pain that we’ve allowed to become the accepted norm in businesses across the world. 

That kind of injustice puts resentment in your chest. So deep you can feel it at your spine. You can’t do much about it at first, but the next time you encounter a similar injustice, you won’t have indifference or a passive hope that kindness will win. Often, it’s something that would alone be somewhat inconsequential. A lit match has very different effects on concrete and gunpowder, after all. All the same, that event can often serve as the starting pistol for societal change bubbling beneath the surface. 

I feel like the WGA strike is that event. It’s a very publicized strike, mostly because it’s headed by a group that knows how the media machine works. They have connections and skills within that area; they don’t have to explain their grievances to journalists who may or may not be receptive. It’s pushed worker’s rights up to a profile that ensures they’ll be covered in tabloids as well as op-eds and financial columns. That is very much a good thing.

It’s not the first one. It’s not the hardest fought. It’s not the most important by itself. But it is a fight worth having, and a signal that better things are to come. As long as we win, of course.

[abnerkrill]

how about we leave that attitude in 2023 and blame the correct people (the executives and CEOs getting rich off of breaking the TV production system) for the love of god. a TV writer I know was asked to outline a whole season in a weekend for no pay with no guaranteed job afterwards. artists aren’t getting paid. in a tech-bro-hubris-filled decade, writers room jobs have gone from fully staffed, stable middle-class careers to a untenable understaffed gig economy where you might get a 6-week gig a few times a year, as an accomplished professional. award-winning writers are broke because mainstream success doesn’t translate to financial stability. whole shows and movies are shelved for tax reasons. how can good art and entertainment get made under those circumstances and why are you blaming writers? didn’t the wga strike teach us that the system is broken?

[leftistteendrama]

✨EP 19 OUT NOW ✨In the Leftist Teen Drama season 3 premiere, Maria and guests Erica Saleh, Laura Marino, and David Carliner delve into the 2007-08 WGA Strike, the 2023 WGA Strike, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA Strike from a worker and fan perspective. (Erica is a 2023 WGA Negotiating Committee member and showrunner of teen drama One of Us is Lying!) From discussing the demands and the wins to the effects on teen dramas past and present, we’re extremely proud to ground our third season in the very real labor struggles behind the teen dramas we love to watch and dissect. Hosted by Maria DiPasquale, produced by Jeff McHale, with art by Charles O'Leary, stream the latest episode wherever you get your podcasts.

[rosalyn51]

SAG-AFTRA & WGA To Hold "National Day Of Solidarity" Rally On Tuesday

by David Robb, Deadline | Aug 21, 2023 | 10:05 AM

UPDATED with latest expected attendees: SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles Local and the Writers Guild of America will hold a "National Day of Solidarity" rally Tuesday outside Disney Studios.

"SAG-AFTRA and WGA will join forces with the AFL-CIO and its affiliates from across the nation and across industries for a National Day of Solidarity," SAG-AFTRA said in a statement. "In this 'Summer of Strikes,' working Americans everywhere are fighting for fair contracts, better compensation, safe working conditions and protections from encroaching technology. Together, we are showing corporate America that when we fight, we win!"

SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14, and the Writers Guild since May 2. The rally will start Tuesday at 10 am PT.

Among those scheduled to speak at the rally include SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler.

Others scheduled to attend include writer-director Aaron Sorkin and fellow The West Wing alums Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford, Josh Malina, Richard Schiff, Melissa Fitzgerald, Mary McCormack and Kathleen York; WGA West board member Liz Alper; Directors Guild of America Secretary-Treasurer Paris Barclay; SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair; Teamsters Local 399 chief executive officer Lindsay Dougherty; Laborers Local 724 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Alex Aguilar Jr.; American Federation of Musicians Local 47 President Stephanie O'Keefe; Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony; and actors Kerry Washington and Sean Astin.

Crabtree-Ireland told reporters last week that "we remain very eager to get back to the table with the AMPTP, as we've said every day" since the actors' strike began. "We have been ready, willing and able to continue bargaining with them and we very much want the AMPTP to come back to the table."

SAG-AFTRA has said that key issues in its strike include "economic fairness, residuals, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and alleviating the burdens of the industry-wide shift to self-taping."

The WGA, after four straight days of bargaining last week, will resume negotiations this week with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It's chief strike issues include pay raises, viewership-based streaming residuals, the "preservation of the writers' room" through minimum staffing and guaranteed days of employment, and guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts.

# # #

Also

WGA & AMPTP Did Not Meet Monday

The Writers Guild and the AMPTP didn't come back to the bargaining table Monday. The two sides last met on Friday, after which the guild told its members that talks would resume sometime this week. The strike is now in its 112th day.

[thefirsthogokage]

Re: Minimum Staffing in Writers Rooms in the WGA 2023 contract

Let's start this off with what the deal looks like on minimum room size:

(link to full WGA 2023 contract)

Ok, so I wondered a bit about the minimum staffing in the contract myself. It seemed a little small, and I got a little confused with the writer-producer bit*. So here's something I just saw (reply to it incoming):

*Writer-producer is a new tier added this contract, as is stated in a tweet later in this post.

That was is background to the next two tweets. I will say, someone pointed out how stupid only 6 episode series would be an incredibly stupid and unprofitable business model.

Reply:

But anywho, here's some interesting stuff about room sizes of other shows that's what got me down that path (keep in mind, I don't think these two saw the person's explanation).

I haven't listened to this (yet?), but here's a podcast from one of the WGA NegComm members - John August - that apparently goes over the contract in technical speak:

[fans4wga]

Adam Conover: So the writers strike is finally over, and I'm so happy to tell you that...

Full transcript of text on images below the cut!

And we changed not just our industry for ourselves, but for every writer who comes after us. And I am…so proud of us. 

Thank you to every writer who made this victory happen, and thank you, thank you, to every fellow worker who stood with us. 

We are gonna stand with you as well because what this proves is that when workers stand together, we win. 

And now…LET’S GET BACK TO WRITING.

[video ID: Adam Conover summarizes the terms of the 2023 WGA Contract that ended a 148-day strike.

So the writers strike is finally over, and I'm so happy to tell you that...WE FUCKING WON.

These are all things that they swore to us five months ago they would never give us in a million years. But we went on strike and we hung together until they were forced to come to the table and meet our demands. 

Contract Summary

This is the contract that we just spent the last 148 days fighting for. And lemme tell you what’s in it: 

a guarantee that a minimum number of writers be hired on every show, 

comedy-variety writers like me be paid [equally on streaming and TV],

provisions that mean better pay for screenwriters, 

better pension and health for writing teams, 

script fees for staff writers for the first time, 

and protections against AI.

AI Protections

AI can’t write scripts, edit scripts, or undermine our rights and credits.

Success-Based Residuals

And we won a success-based residual! So for the first time, when more people watch a movie or TV show on streaming, the writer that created it will make more money, too.

---

And we changed not just our industry for ourselves, but for every writer who comes after us. And I am…so proud of us. 

Thank you to every writer who made this victory happen, and thank you, thank you, to every fellow worker who stood with us. 

We are gonna stand with you as well because what this proves is that when workers stand together, we win. 

And now…LET’S GET BACK TO WRITING. [/end video ID]

[blogger360ncislarules]

With the SAG-AFTRA strike officially ending yesterday, the broadcast networks are firming up the sizes of the 2023-24 orders to their scripted series, whose production was delayed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA work stoppages.

As Deadline has reported over the past week, because of the early November timing of the actors strike’s end, returning broadcast scripted series will be producing between 10-13 episodes for this season to start rolling out in February.

There are two notable exceptions, CBS’ Young Sheldon and ABC’s Abbott Elementary, which will do more. Details are still being ironed out, but I hear Young Sheldon‘s upcoming seventh season will consist of 14-15 episodes. Abbott Elementary‘s third season will have 14 episodes, sources said.

This should not come as a surprise. Both Young Sheldon and Abbott Elementary are half-hour comedies, and while as single-camera they take longer to produce than multi-camera sitcoms, they still can be filmed and delivered faster than drama series.

Additionally, Young Sheldon and Abbott Elementary are both their respective networks’ flagship comedy series that are well received by viewers and critics and are sought after by advertisers.

On Abbott Elementary, as Deadline reported, ABC and lead producing studio Warner Bros. TV got into a back-and-forth after the end of the WGA strike when the broadcast networks started more serious return-to-production planning. At the time, ABC was asking for 13 episodes while the studio wanted to produce 17. For weeks, the two sides could not come to an agreement. Following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, ABC and WBTV settled on a 14-episode third season of the award-winning comedy.

As for Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory prequel’s upcoming seventh season is the last in a three-year pickup the comedy received in 2021. There has been speculation that the show’s story could come to a natural end with Season 7 but no decision has been made on this being Young Sheldon‘s final chapter, sources said.

[crystal-lillies]

Some positive things, widespread and personal, from 2023

Hello all here's my annual good things roundup, and as always I'll be missing a good lot of stuff that happened bc I'm pulling from the top of my head and also I'm running late.

In no particular order:

Some great indie animation stuff this year, with Hazbin Hotel news and episodes of Helluva Boss continuing and then the Lackadaisy pilot and fundraising campaign success!

Got the end of The Owl House early in 2023, and while it was not the ending we all would have hoped for, it was an incredible ending all the same and absolutely so well made.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has a new official TTRPG game, several of the OG cast did a playthrough of it, AND the trailer for the live action TV series doesn't look half bad! Also, Toph's VA has been reacting to the series. Overall it's been a great year for ATLA fans.

CLAMP announced that the continuation of the CCS Clear Card anime is on its way, and the Clear Card manga finished this year! The kids are okay!

Game movie wins! Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, along with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, were both great adaptations and fun movies where previously adapted movies of the same properties were so awful they make Artemis Fowl look barely passable!

Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse was super freaking incredible cinema and stupendous animation and score. And the animators got a break from having to cram the Beyond the Spiderverse movie in a year jfc.

The WGA and SAGAFTRA strikes I wouldn't consider positives on their own; however, the overwhelming solidarity across the lines and from us the fans and everyone in the same working boat helped the WGA and SAGAFTRA strikers stick it to the studio execs being literal cartoonish villains and get the things they were asking for after a brutally long strike period where the studio execs absolutely wanted them all to lose their homes and suffer. Power to the workers! WGA and SAGAFTRA strong!

BARBIE. No notes. 100000/10. You go girl.

But also the meme of Barbenheimer, absolutely genius.

GOOD OMENS SEASON 2!!!! HOOO BOY Neil Gaiman really shook us to the core with these ineffable celestial lads

The Marvels was a lot of fun! Kamala Khan and adult Monica Rambeau finally got to the big screen and they were so good altogether with Carol Danvers! Sadly didn't get great box office, but the movie itself being good makes up for that in my eyes!

Wonka was also a lot better than expected! Very fun and wholesome and heartwarming! Not bad Timothee Chalamet, not bad.

Critical Role's The Legend of Vox Machina season 2 was incredible, and a Mighty Nein animated series was also announced to be in the works! Plus, we got a Mighty Nein live show in London! And Candela Obscura premiered this year as well! And the Exquisite Exandria cookbook dropped in August and it's been so amazing.

Dimension 20 has been popping off this year as well, and several of its cast started Worlds Beyond Number, which is on a whole other level of inspirational and awesome.

On some personal notes, I got to spend time with good friends this past year (and getting one into TLOVM and Critical Role too, which has been fun)

And in that vein, I got into a bonafide Dungeons and Dragons campaign this summer, based from a oneshot I played in April by putting myself out there and trying something new. And man, this campaign has been one of the best things in 2023 let alone maybe my whole life. I'm so grateful to be a part of it and to keep going.

And this past summer, I got to go to a convention and meet several of my favorite actors including the cast of Smallville, Charlie Cox, Dante Basco, and Jason Liebrecht! It was so much fun.

I spent my birthday with my whole immediate family and went to Disney Hollywood Studios and had such a blast!

And I started more actively sending my writing out to litmags! While nothing has been accepted yet, I am ever more determined to be published!

There is much more good that happened in 2023 but for now, this is a good sample to end the year and beckon the new one forth with the same and even more positive vibes.

[munsons-maiden]

When do u think they'll start filming Season 5 ?

As soon as the WGA strike ends, I figure. As for when that will happen, I don't have a clue. I did some research on the strike when it started and I'm keeping up with the news about it, but I don't think it'll end anytime soon. There's a really good article summing up the situation and offering three scenarios on how long it could last, with the "worst case" scenario being the strike ending somewhere around December 2023/January 2024 - which means they'd start filming February or March 2024 (exactly one year after they intended to start filming).

Disclaimer because it's important for me to add this whenever the WGA strike is brought up: I 100% support the strike. I want writers to be paid fairly and treated with respect so no matter how long the strike has to last for that, I hope they'll win.

[warningsine]

We didn't start a fire - 2023 Edition

Sudan mess, SpaceX, Myanmar war stress Nova Dam, Twitter X, elections take place everywhere Silicon Valley crash, earthquake in Afghanistan COVID safe, says the WHO, Russian invasion in year two

Javier Milei, Gaza strip, Gabon Coup, Gaylors get a grip Tusk wins, WGA, say goodbye to Feinstein Eye transplant, FIFA Cup, Afghan-Iran border clash TikTok ban, Il-76 crash, Nagorno-Karabakh clash

We didn't start the fire...

Typhoon in Taiwan, much unrest in Pakistan Xi Jinping, a 3rd term, Monkeypox isn't a threat Titan submarine, Turkey-Syria earthquake "Now and Then," going green, the UK ruled by Charles III

Generative AI, EU fascism on the rise MINUSMA, moon probe lands, Wagner group has to disband, Warrant out for Vladimir, Serbian shooter, climate fear United Auto Workers strike, Berlusconi finally dies

We didn't start the fire…

Ron Desantis Disney foes, FTC Amazon woes UFOs, Hawaii fires, Finland a member of NATO Fosse wins the Nobel Prize, so does Louis E. Brus, Barbenheimer, Bankman’s sink, democracy at its very brink

Kissinger, Freddy pain, Kenyan cult full insane Exxon checks, heatwaves drop, Hamas-Israel start a war January 6 Trial, German nuclear power

Money just for the elite, fights brewing in every street A new mass shooting each day. What else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire…