After 148 days of strike, the approximately 11,500 members of the American screenwriters’ union began, Monday, October 2, to vote on the ratification of the agreement reached, Sunday, September 24, between their union and the production studios on their remuneration and their working conditions for the next three years. The approval process is open until Monday, October 9.
According to the specialized press, the adoption of the agreement is beyond doubt. The writers are satisfied. In calling for a return to work on Wednesday, September 27, the Writers Guild of America called“exceptional” the text concluded with the Alliance of Cinema and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents producers, studios (Paramount, Sony, Disney) and platforms (Amazon, Netflix and Apple). A victorious tone contrasting with the modesty of 2008, after a strike which lasted three months. Before calling for a return to work, the union simply announced that its negotiators had “do their best”.
The context was different then, the authors had not anticipated the digital revolution, the industry was omnipotent. This time, the organization mobilized the troops around the defense of the profession against “existential threats” which weigh on her. The combativeness has paid off, especially since the major production studios are themselves in difficulty facing streaming platforms. The union managed to maintain cohesion: the mavericks, like the actress and director Drew Barrymore or the political comedian Bill Maher, who wanted to resume their solo show, quickly fell into line.
After the compromise was announced, a number of screenwriters expressed their satisfaction on social networks. “Wow, this deal is amazing!” »exclaimed author and comedian Robin Thede. ” Gorgeous ! »added Natasha Rothwell, who worked on the committed comedy Insecure. Many felt like their profession had been pulled from the brink. “When we started this, our goal was for authors to be able to make enough money to live and work in Los Angelesexplained Justin Halpern, the co-writer of the popular comedy Abbott Elementary (ABC), at Los Angeles Times. This way of life was disappearing. »
Supervision of the use of artificial intelligence
The screenwriters went on strike on May 2, with a set of demands testifying to several years of frustration, masked by the pandemic. They demanded increases in remuneration – salaries have stagnated for ten years, while streaming has increased the lifespan of works – and the maintenance of their collective creative process in the “writers’ rooms”, which the producers want to reduce in number. importance. Last demand, but not least, the screenwriters wanted to curb the use of artificial intelligence in the design of scripts and in the training of algorithms. In other words, control over the use of their writings by machines.
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