Striking Hollywood writers walk the picket line (2007).
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The Hollywood film and TV writers represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if the terms they’ve laid out in their ongoing contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are not met. Their current contract, which has traditionally been renewed once every three years, expires on May 1.
More than 9,200 of the union’s roughly 11,500 members cast ballots in Monday’s vote (April 17). Of those who voted, 97.85 percent were in favor of striking, with only 2.15 percent voting against it, per the guild’s own numbers. The results mirror (and surpass) those of a similar vote six years ago when 96.3 percent of the WGA’s voting body approved a strike. That vote, however, did not lead to an actual strike, as the union’s leadership and that of the AMPTP were able to reach a compromise before the deadline. The last time WGA writers launched a full-on strike was in November 2007. They held out for 100 days, disrupting the industry dramatically.
The WGA’s main topic of concern is that the streaming model has drastically decreased the income writers receive through residuals (the passive profits they earn when an episode or movie they worked on is re-aired on television), even as studios’ profits continue to soar from their deals with platforms such as Netflix and HBO Max. “It’s absolutely undeniable that the streaming platforms are generating mountains of money through their subscription base,” TV writer Michael Jones Morales says in a promotional video released by the WGA after Monday’s vote. “What they’re choosing to do with that money is an entirely different question.” Watch the full clip below.