Members of Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) East and West chapters have ratified the new contract with the studios and streamers with 90.38% or 4,282 voting in favour and 9.62% or 456 voting against.
The term of the Minimum Basic Agreement runs from May 2 through May 1, 2030. The Guild agreed to a four-year deal with the studios’ negotiating representative Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers (AMPTP) rather than the customary three, after the studios had pushed for five.
Turnout of 4,738 out of more than 11,000 members was considerably lower than the approximately 9,000 who voted in 2023 to approve that deal after a bruising 148-day strike.
The new deal includes a 3.25% increase in the health contribution rate starting on May 2 and increases to health contribution caps, worth a projected $280 million in new funding to the health plan over the term of the agreement.
Industry contraction meant in recent years more writers relied on extended coverage points as healthcare costs went up, which drove up in-network plan costs by 13% each year since 2019.
WGAW president Michele Mulroney said, “In the face of industry contraction and runaway healthcare cost inflation, writers were able to secure a contract that returns our Health Fund to a sustainable path and builds on gains from the 2023 strike.”
The MBA also brings in minimum increases totaling 10.5% over the term of the contract, with a higher increase for comedy-variety writers in the first year; increased foreign and domestic residuals and improvements to the viewership-based streaming bonus established in 2023; and a new minimum for “page-one” rewrites and expanded protections against free work.
In terms of AI protections, the 2026 MBA preserves the protections from 2023 and adds requirements if the studios seek to license writers’ scripts or projects based on those scripts that get produced to Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) systems.
The studios must five the Guild written notice is they license writers’ work to train a GAI to generate output, and the Guild can ask to discuss the license and remunerations for the writers.
A statement from AMPTP said, “This deal reflects a collaborative approach that supports both writers and the industry’s long-term stability. We look forward to building on this progress to reach fair agreements with SAG-AFTRA and the DGA that support greater certainty while fostering opportunity across the industry.”
SAG-AFTRA resumes negotiations on May 27, while the DGA is expected to commence talks in May. Both contracts expire on June 30.
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