Writers Guild Of America And Hollywood Studios Avoid Strike After Reaching New Agreement

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood's major studios, reached an agreement in the eleventh hour, avoiding a writers strike. The WGA had vowed to strike if the two side had been unable to come to terms on the new three-year collective bargaining agreement, which would have likely been a costly disruption in Hollywood productions. In a memo to its members the WGA said it made gains in minimums across the board and increased contributions to the health plan, according to Variety. The guild also received a 15% bump in cable TV residuals and a roughly $15 million increase in subscription video on demand residuals, along with job protection on parental leave and a win on pay in short TV seasons. While the guild said it didn't get everything it wanted, or everything it deserved, it had previously estimated it would have cost studios $156 million annually to increase payments under its proposal.