Overview
- Guild members backed the high-level bargaining outline by 97.4%, setting the agenda for talks with the AMPTP.
- Health plan stability is the top priority, with the WGA citing $205 million in losses over four years, including $122 million in 2023–24, and warning the fund could be depleted within three years without changes.
- The demands seek higher employer contributions and caps for pension and health, increased minimum pay, stronger streaming residuals, a higher minimum for “page one” rewrites, and fair pay for post‑production and Appendix A writers.
- Writers are pressing for expanded AI protections plus stricter limits on unpaid “free” work, a guaranteed second step for screenwriters, tighter rules on screen roundtables and if/come deals, and improved TV employment terms.
- Bargaining begins March 16 ahead of the May 1 contract expiration, with Ellen Stutzman leading the WGA and AMPTP president Gregory Hessinger representing studios, while the WGA West staff strike continues and the Writers Guild Awards were canceled.