NEW DELHI: The Writers Guild of America announced that writers in Hollywood have ratified a new three-year contract with studios, ending the strike after five months, AP reported.
At least 99 percent of writers have voted in favor of the deal, which is seen as the leaders' victory.
The agreement is widely praised by members, with major gains in payment, size of show staff, and control of artificial intelligence in scripts. The result of the vote taken over the past week was never really in doubt.
"Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago," said Meredith Stiehm, the president of the Writers Guild's western branch, in an email to members.
The writers' strike began on May 2 this year after 11,500 WGA members stopped working when their contract expired. Among the issues they were protesting included increased pay, the use of Artificial Intelligence in the creation of scripts, and the size of diminished writing staffs linked to streaming show performance.
The writers' new contract runs through May 1, 2026, three years after their previous contract expired and they went on strike. After negotiations that saw direct involvement from the chiefs of Disney, Netflix, and Warner Bros.
Discovery, a tentative deal was struck on September 24.
Two days later, when the board members voted to approve the agreement and send it to members, the strike was declared over and writers were released to work.
They began almost immediately, with late-night talk shows back on the air within a week and other shows, including “Saturday Night Live,” soon to follow.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in strike talks, congratulated writers for their vote, saying in a statement that the contract “represents meaningful gains and protections for writers” and that it “is important progress for our industry that writers are back to work.”
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