The Writers Guild and studio CEOs were working late Friday night to reach an agreement to end the strike, but it appears they aren’t quite done yet.
The third day of direct meetings among the WGA negotiating team and the leaders of Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, and Warner Bros Discovery, which lasted for 10 hours, ended without an initial deal for a new three-year contract. While both parties managed to reach an agreement on a number of subjects, we hear that a solution acceptable to everybody on issues such as AI and the minimum staffing levels for writers rooms has escaped the negotiators thus far.
While nothing is set in stone, it appears like Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav, and the other partners are willing to reconvene at some point over the weekend. Indeed, the CEO Gang of Four, including AMPTP CEO Carol Lombardini and WGA executives Ellen Stutzman, David Goodman, and Chris Keyser, will meet again as soon as tomorrow.
“The WGA and AMPTP met for negotiating on Friday and will convene once again on Saturday,” the guild said in a 9:41 p.m. email to members. “Thank you for your fantastic support on the picket lines today!” It means a lot to us as we fight toward a contract that writers deserve.”
An insider told Deadline that there is a “Will to get this accomplished before the [Jewish] holiday,” which is why conversations are taking place sooner rather than later. This year, Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Sunday, September 24 and ends at sundown on Monday, September 25.
After 100 days of no talks following the WGA’s first strike in 15 years on May 2, the CEO Gang of Four’s direct engagement this week was already a step forward. The rapidity with which the August deliberations crashed and burned made it clear that Iger, Langley, Sarandos, and Zaslav needed to be present this time to face the WGA’s suggestions head on.
The impasse is definitely frustrating for workers at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices, individuals on the line of protest today, and nearly everyone else in Los Angeles County who has been struck hard economically, but this latest punt should not come as a surprise. Labor discussions are frequently fluid, and this is especially true in this circumstance, where a 20th-century labor-relations formula is being changed into a 21st-century talent-relations strategy in real time in a rapidly changing business.
For example, by the early hours of September 21, the CEOs and WGA team expected to end discussions around 4:30 p.m. PT sans a final agreement. The intention at the time was for all to return on September 26. The parties’ decision to continue negotiating on Thursday night was a result of momentum more than scheduling.
Despite somewhat of a slow burn this morning, much of the momentum from last night resurfaced, but with some complex numbers and systems at work, it wasn’t sufficient to get to the final line.
If the CEOs and WGA negotiators can reproduce this with a short overnight break tomorrow or before sunset Sunday, the strike may be finished in a couple of weeks once members ratify it. The specifics of how the strike will end as well as when the writers will return to work have been discussed in the negotiations.
Due to the lack of nearly any projects as a result of the WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, the financial standing of theater workers are being severely impacted, which is having a negative impact on the broader business. This weekend’s box office will almost certainly set a new record for 2023, surpassing February 10-12’s paltry $52.6 million haul.
The strikes have cost the state of California, and notably Los Angeles County, an estimated $5 billion. It’s not just the entertainment business that’s been hurt; workers in restaurants, trucking companies, prop houses, and timber providers are also feeling the pinch, and the fallout will touch government budgets as well.
The WGA strike, now in its 144th day, will soon surpass the longest recorded boycott by writers: the 154-day strike in 1988. SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for 71 days and will have to reach their own agreement with the AMPTP whenever the WGA settles.
