The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced its first screenwriters’ strike in 15 years after negotiations failed to finalize a new three-year draft contract. The last WGA strike lasted 100 days and contributed to the entry of California into recession, write American publications.

According to The Verge, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted unanimously to strike after contract negotiations with major Hollywood studios reached an impasse. The WGA is seeking higher wages and better working conditions from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a group that represents about 350 major studios and streaming services such as Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Apple and Sony.

The last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days and plunged California into recession, costing the state’s economy $2.1 billion

Shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon will be the first to suffer, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they were immediately shut down. Other shows or series will also suffer from reduced production (i.e. the number of episodes per season) or a complete shutdown. Movies may also be affected depending on the length of the warning.

The WGA is trying to negotiate a new three-year contract for its 11,500 members, arguing that the move to streaming has made it harder for screenwriters to make a living. There are many complex reasons for this, but the biggest issues boil down to the fact that TV shows on streaming services have shorter seasons and pay less than broadcast ones.

A report released by the union on March 14 found that half of TV show writers now earn minimum wage. “Companies have used the shift to streaming to drive down screenwriter pay and separate screenwriting from production, making working conditions worse for screenwriters at all levels,” the WGA said.

The union’s demands include an increase in the minimum wage, elimination of “mini-room” abuses and increased health and pension contributions. The WGA also wants safeguards to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in screenwriting, preventing it from being used to create content or rewrite work already done by human screenwriters.

On the other hand, the writers were told that they had been offered “a big increase in compensation” and that there was room to improve that offer as well.

Contractual tensions between the WGA and AMPTP have been building for several years. The most recent negotiations took place in 2017, reaching a tentative agreement minutes after the previous contract expired. Then the Covid pandemic made it difficult for both sides to agree on the terms of the next three-year contract agreement in 2020.

If the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) cannot come to an agreement, Hollywood will be days away from what could be a major disruption to the film and television industry.

Writers say they want a decent salary because streaming devalues ​​their work, even if it takes more time. The studios say the industry is asking too much at the wrong time, and that streaming services should focus on the revenue generated by the large mass of subscribers you tempt with only small subscriptions.

Over the past few weeks, IndieWire spoke with writers from a variety of professions, including a feature writer, another streaming service writer, and a veteran of late-night sitcoms. Each of them faces different challenges

What happened last time the writers went on strike?

In 2007, the WGA fought for the transition of content to “new media”, i.e. streaming. Even then, no one called him that. At the time, Netflix was a DVD company that had just introduced streaming, but the creators knew they needed to make a change.

Talk shows and other broadcasts stopped during the 100-day strike. Seasons of TV series such as “30 Rock”, “The Big Bang Theory” or “Heroes” were shortened, while others such as “24” or “Entourage” were postponed altogether.

A 2008 analysis by the Los Angeles Times estimated that the strike cost the local economy $2.1 billion, and that’s before taking into account the negative effects on other industries across the country.

What was the result of the last strike?

After the strike, streamers were forced to hire WGA writers, and they received 1.2% of gross revenue. Screenwriters also received 2% of the gross revenue if the films were actively promoted. There was no solution for subscription streaming, as it was almost non-existent at the time.

What could happen to the movies and TV shows you watch today?

If a strike begins, no screenwriters will write for film, TV and streaming anymore. As before, late-night talk shows stopped airing new episodes almost instantly, and variety shows like Saturday Night Live or Last Week Tonight were forced to shorten their seasons.

This will affect reality shows, game shows, news, sports and other unscripted programming.

As for movies, the impact may not be felt this year, but next year if projects currently underway are delayed or unable to start shooting on time due to the strike. The longer the strike lasts, the more pronounced these problems become.

What do screenwriters want?

Screenwriters are demanding a salary increase to keep up with inflation. Basically, screenwriters feel like they’re being asked to do more for less.

Ahead of the talks, the WGA said the average weekly wage for screenwriters had fallen four percent over the past decade; adjusted for inflation, the drop is 23 percent.

The average work week for writers and showrunners has increased, even as the number of episodes in an average season has decreased from about 21 episodes in the past to eight to 12 episodes today. Writers who are paid per episode have seen their average salary drop – sometimes to minimum wage, if not lower.

Then there is AI. The technology is in its infancy, but the guild sees how studios can replace screenwriters with artificial intelligence. The guild fights to ensure that AI cannot be used to rewrite the script.