Writer’s Strike Authorization Meeting: New WGA Contract Still Far From Complete Despite “Little Bit Of Progress”

Despite their best efforts at the bargaining table, many Writers’ Guild of America members feel that both sides are too far apart to reach a deal regarding feature films. According to a strike authorization meeting on Zoom, none of the petitioned production companies are willing to give enough for their writers.

Former WGA West President Chris Keyser gave a passionate speech during the authorization meeting about all the struggles writers face in the industry and how far they are from progress. While he acknowledges that no one wants a strike and that companies will say that streaming is costing them severely, Keyser encourages those listening to refuse to back down “on the most important provisions, which are writers’ rooms and compensation,” especially since 24% of showrunners and story editors make minimum. Overall, he feels that the two sides of the argument are “‘far away from a deal'” and that action needs to be taken now. Keyser concedes that the rollbacks by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers are “less draconian” than before, but he also proclaims that the WGA must “be brave [and] speak the language of power.” 

Other speakers in this meeting included former WGA West President David A. Goodman and WGA West Assistant Executive Director Ellen Stutzman, who has been leading the Negotiations Committee. While Keyser was the one who spoke for the majority of the meeting (20 minutes, according to a source), Goodman and Stutzman took questions from the attendees. They talked about the past strikes and the current $20 million strike fund.

This third meeting of the week will soon be followed by two more until the vote for a strike on Monday, while bargaining is set to resume on Friday. The Directors Guild was also formed to renegotiate their contract on May 10 and supported the WGA’s efforts. According to a source from Deadline, the meeting acted as a pitch to support the strike on Monday, and they believe “they were very successful.”

One guild member claimed Keyser was “very persuasive if you needed persuading. But I don’t see how any guild member won’t vote yes.”