WGA East, West Reach Deal with Producers

(Image credit: IDK)

The Writers Guild of America, East and West, has reached a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP).

According to the unions, the new agreement includes boosts to minimum pay rates, increased residuals, a first ever "portable paid parenting benefit fund," larger script publication fees, and a right to meet with their employers "about their inclusion and equity programs and anti-harassment measures."

The vote was not close: 4,068 yes and 87 no, or 98% approval. The two-year contract is retroactive to May 2, 2020 and thus extends through May 1, 2023.

In addition to the usual give and take, that happened against the backdrop of a global pandemic.

“This year we faced a unique situation in negotiations because of COVID-19, but despite the challenges posed by the pandemic we achieved gains in a deal that will serve writers’ interests for the next three years,” said WGAE President Beau Willimon and WGAW President David A. Goodman.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.