The Writers Guild of America announced that 99% of its members voted in favor of ratifying the new agreement negotiated with the Hollywood studios.
The writers returned to work last week when officials of the WGA East and WGA West approved the deal. They went on strike and joined picket lines in May.
Terms of the deal included better pay, bonuses for working on successful shows and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.
"We would not have been able to achieve this industry-changing contract without WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, negotiating committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David Goodman, the entire WGA Negotiating Committee, strike captains, lot coordinators, and the staff that supported every part of the negotiation and strike action,” WGAW president Meredith Stiehm and WGAE president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement.
“As our negotiations come to an end, we won’t forget our SAG-AFTRA siblings who have supported writers every step of the way,“ they said. ”We call upon the AMPTP to negotiate a deal that addresses the needs of performers and, until they do, we ask WGA members who can to continue to show up on their picket lines in solidarity.”
Said the group representing the studios: “The AMPTP member companies congratulate the WGA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents meaningful gains and protections for writers. It is important progress for our industry that writers are back to work.”
