Writers Guild to Resume Negotiations with AMPTP on Friday

Brian Welk
·2 min read

The WGA and AMPTP are heading back to the negotiating table tomorrow after 101 days on strike.

The Writers Guild of America told members on Thursday that AMPTP lead negotiator Carol Lombardini has asked the WGA negotiating committee to meet on Friday and that “we expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals.”

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“Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies,” the guild wrote to members.

The AMPTP did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s request for comment. The WGA had no additional statement beyond what was shared with membership.

The writers and studios met last week in an attempt to restart negotiations. Word was that the meeting (or the meeting to set a meeting) was a dud, with the guild lashing out at studio leaks to the press and communicating to members that the AMPTP was still unwilling to engage on key proposals like the preservation of the writers room and success-based residuals. The guild did say however that management at the time was willing to discuss writer-specific TV minimums and the issues around AI. So there was still a chance that talks could resume as early as this week, leading to tomorrow’s formal restart of talks.

As Puck reported last week, lead negotiator Lombardini reportedly advised against the initial sit-down with the writers but was urged by a small group of studio executives, including the team from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra, to engage. Since then, other CEOs during their earnings calls in the last week have addressed the strike and expressed a willingness to quickly reach a resolution.

The writers have been on strike since May 1, and the actors joined them on strike on July 13. The DGA reached an agreement with the AMPTP on June 3, and its membership later ratified that deal.

Since the writers have been on strike, late-night talk shows have all gone dark, production on anything without a locked script had been delayed or shuttered, and development of new projects had entirely halted. The actors joining them on the picket lines only led to further shutdowns across the industry, save for a handful of projects that have managed some production without SAG-AFTRA members or those that have signed interim agreements with the guild. Some studios have already taken the step to delay movie releases for the remainder of this year and into 2024, as actors have also been barred from promoting their past, present, or future work made with struck companies.

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