Overview
- WGA West increased its proposal with roughly $800,000 in additional first‑year wages and a 4% first‑year raise, on top of a 3% bump granted last August, with further 4% raises slated for August 2026 and August 2027, according to a memo from executive director Ellen Stutzman.
- The Writers Guild Staff Union rejected the offer and remains on strike, and the union has signaled it could picket Monday’s MBA bargaining session with the AMPTP, which could force WGA negotiators to cross a picket line.
- Stutzman said the guild will proceed with MBA negotiations using its negotiating committee and executive staff who are not in the bargaining unit, stressing the obligation to secure the best contract for writers.
- WGSU said recent talks showed progress but accused management of issuing an ultimatum to drop core issues like seniority and job protections, and it urged Stutzman to attend bargaining.
- Management says the union is still demanding the right to strike during the contract term and to align the contract’s expiration with the MBA cycle, while the staff also seeks AI safeguards, just‑cause procedures and reinstatement of three workers the guild says were fired for cause; the strike that began in mid‑February has already led to cancellation of the March 8 Los Angeles WGA Awards, and the union has an NLRB complaint the guild denies.