Hollywood in the middle of a storm. The screenwriters are threatening to strike if their salaries are not increased, as explained by France Info. The screenwriters’ union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), is advancing the date of May 1, next Monday, to carry out its threats. Members of the union, which represents 11,500 screenwriters, voted 97.85% on April 17 in favor of a strike if negotiations fail. But why now?
On May 1, the agreement signed three years ago between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the organization which brings together the largest film studios, television networks and streaming platforms, will come to its term. The opportunity for the screenwriters to renegotiate the conditions of this agreement.
Currently, the union minimum wage is set at 7,412 dollars per week, which is equivalent to 6,700 euros. But screenwriters work less than six months a year. They are called on average for 20 to 24 work weeks per year and only 50% of screenwriters are paid the union minimum. A figure that has evolved since they were a third eight years ago, according to the WGA.
If the screenwriters work so little in the year, it is above all due to a change in the industry: the length of the series. Modern series have about ten episodes per season against twenty episodes for older series. The screenwriters are therefore asking for an increase in the minimum wage, but also to receive a fairer share of royalties for reruns on streaming platforms, of which they currently receive a very small share.
Another request: to receive an extension in case of rewriting and last minute corrections, a recurring fact during filming. Finally, they want to be able to obtain compensation during periods of interruption between two seasons of the same series.
The WGA is ramping up the heat ahead of May Day and bringing the memory of the 2007 strike to bear. Eight years ago, a writers’ strike lasted 100 days, shutting down Hollywood for three months. As in 2007, if the screenwriters stop working, the entire production chain is impacted and the financial losses are colossal. The city of Los Angeles lost $2.1 billion in the massive strike.
However, unlike the writers’ strike eight years ago, new streaming platforms would not be impacted instantly. Giants like HBO or Netflix are working a lot in advance and could fill up for several months.
Conversely, the popular “Late night show” in the United States like that of Jimmy Fallon would be the first affected since the scriptwriters work day by day according to the news. On the cinema side, it is the film releases of 2024 that could be affected.
