Hollywood Writers' Strike: Talks at a standstill with studios; here's what happened

After 18 weeks of being on the picket lines, the members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are still on strike in Hollywood. Several rounds of talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have failed. Here's the update on the talks.

The latest round of negotiations came to an uncertain halt on August 22, after the AMPTP went public with its first counteroffer since May 2023, when the strike began and the WGA had made its original proposal.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that the proposal was dated August 11 but released on August 22. The AMPTP's counteroffer was trashed by the WGA as something done “not to bargain, but to jam us” and not “nearly enough.”

The WGA informed its members on August 24 that it responded with its own counter-proposal on August 15 and further negotiations were held.

On August 22, WGA leaders met with AMPTP reps as well as head honchos of Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. Discovery.

AMPTP president Carol Lombardini said the counteroffer “meets the priority concerns the writers have expressed” and hoped the strike would end.

The WGA has never released the details of its desired terms and conditions in public since May 2 this year, when the strike started.
Studios and Lombardini would like to start talks sooner. The WGA said the offer was like “giving with one hand and taking back with the other”.

It said the release of the proposal by the AMPTP was a “tactic in the middle of an ongoing negotiation.”

FAQs

When did the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike begin?
The SAG-AFTRA strike of 2023 began on July 14, 2023, when thousands of Hollywood actors joined the screenwriters in a strike for better pay and working conditions.

Did Hollywood actors strike before 2023?
The last major actors' strike in Hollywood was in 1980 and lasted 10 weeks. There was another strike in 2000 that lasted six months, before the 2023 one.