The staff of the Writers Guild of America West has voted to authorize a strike, just weeks before the union is due to sit down with the major studios.
The union staffers, who organized last spring, have been demanding better wages and job protections in their first contract. Negotiations with WGA West management have been underway intermittently since September, with the last session held on Jan. 17.
During a break in talks, the Writers Guild Staff Union staged a picket outside WGA West headquarters, demanding “just cause” employee discipline and a “fair deal.”
The staffers — represented by the Pacific Northwest Staff Union — have since voted to authorize a strike over unfair labor practices, with 82 of 100 employees voting yes. The alleged unfair practices include “surface bargaining,” unilateral changes to the status quo, “unlawful surveillance,” and retaliation.
“If management won’t bargain in good faith with us at the table, we will see them on the picket line,” the union said on its Instagram post on Thursday. “#ItsTime.”
No deadline was given.
The WGSU filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the WGA West in August, alleging that a member of the organizing committee was unlawfully fired. The WGA West denied the allegation at the time.
According to a WGSU fact sheet, the staffers are pursuing a range of proposals, including:
- Just cause and grievance procedures that promote mutual accountability and fairness
- Robust protections from artificial intelligence in the workplace
- Work from home provisions that codify and improve upon current practice
- Sustainable workloads that promote quality in servicing writers
- Extreme weather events and climate change impact language
- Professional development resources that promote opportunities for growth
- Pay increases that result in living wages reflective of the value our work provides
- A strong union wage scale that rewards longevity and dedication to WGAW members
The staff union has also stated that 64% of its members make less than $84,850, the “low income” threshold for a single-person household in Los Angeles County.
In a statement, the WGA West denied the allegations of labor law violations.
“The WGAW has been bargaining in good faith with its staff union since September and has offered comprehensive proposals with numerous union protections and improvements to compensation and benefits,” a spokesperson for the union said. “Public claims suggesting otherwise are inaccurate, and allegations of unfair labor practices are without merit. WGAW respects the staff’s right to engage in collective activity, and hopes to reach a first contract agreement with the staff union soon.”
The WGA West also released a four-page side-by-side comparison of the proposals and counterproposals on Thursday evening. According to that document, management has offered a minimum annual salary of $55,000, while the staff union wants a minimum of $59,737.
The staff union has also sought assurances that generative AI will not be used in the workplace. Management has confirmed it has no intention of using AI, and offered that if it does, the staff will be given paid training. However, management worries that the staff’s proposal could impede it from using new technologies to evaluate employees’ work.
WGA West staffers played a key part in the 2023 WGA strike, supporting thousands of TV and film writers who spent months picketing the major studios in Los Angeles.
The WGA is due to return to the negotiating table with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on March 16, with several weeks of bargaining expected ahead of the May 1 contract expiration.
In a message to its members, the WGA West said that it would prefer that the staff not go on strike at such a critical point, but that the AMPTP negotiations work will continue regardless.
“(T)he executive and managerial staff that work directly with the WGA Negotiating Committee are not part of the PNWSU bargaining unit,” the union said. “Other management staff will carry out core functions of the Guild to lessen the impact of any disruption on the membership.”
The staff union includes attorneys, research analysts, residuals representatives, software engineers, and many other job classifications.
The union leadership said it supports the staff’s right to collective action.
“At the same time, we are focused on the challenging negotiation period ahead of us, including securing necessary funding for the health and pension funds that writers struck to establish and maintain — and that Guild staff also receive their benefits from,” the union said.
