The Hollywood Strikes: A Modern Example of Successful Collective Bargaining

By: Madeline Wessell

We like to imagine that healthy and stable working conditions were solidified in the 1990’s. Unfortunately, working hours regulation and minimum wage have not been enough. Finally, workers of the entertainment business had enough, striking for regulation of residual payments and artificial intelligence to stabilize an industry upended by the streaming revolution.[1].After 146 days striking, the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) reached a tentative deal with entertainment companies on September 24th, 2023.[2] The WGA began striking in May and the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (“SAG-AFTRA”) joined in July; making it the first time the two unions have striked simultaneously since 1960.[3] Cumulatively, the unions had over 160,000 members striking to create Hollywood’s first industry wide shut down in sixty years.[4]

The Screen Actors Guild and the Screen Writers Guild, the WGA’s precursor, were each founded in 1933.[5] Prior to 1950, Hollywood strikes concerned basic working conditions; and up until this year they focused on fair pay regarding residuals.[6] Following the streaming revolution, expedited by a global pandemic, the 2023 strikes advocated for the pre-1950s fundamental concerns about working conditions while demanding regulations regarding AI’s role in the industry’s future.[7]

Historically, unions have bargained with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (“AMPTP”).[8] Originally the AMPTP only represented studio heads, but today studios, networks, streamers, and other major production companies are included.[9] Kate Fortmueller, an expert in Hollywood labor history, cites the fundamental difference in labor culture as a driving force behind this revolution, “These streaming companies have origins in tech. And tech is a very different labor culture than Hollywood, in part because tech is not heavily unionized. And Hollywood has been for almost 100 years.”[10]

Since the 1950s, development in technology was followed by a fight for residuals.[11] Historically, residuals allow artists to capture some of the revenue they lose as their art becomes more accessible to consumers, but often impact their compensation.[12] Over the last decade, the entertainment industry has rapidly changed with an influx of streaming services and made-for-steaming shows.[13] Streaming series have significantly fewer episodes than television series did.[14] The transition from broadcast TV to streaming led to a decrease in episodes produced per season, and translated writers from “writer’s rooms” to “mini-rooms” a streaming-era innovation where fewer writers were hired to help conceive of a show, and are frequently paid less.[15]

To address the effects on income created by streaming culture, both WGA and SAG-AFTRA proposed explicit changes to residuals. On behalf of writers, the WGA’s demanded “increases in compensation for streaming content, concessions from studios on minimum staffing for television shows, and guarantees that artificial intelligence technology will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation.”[16] In the streaming proposal, “views” replaced “runs” and a “view” is defined as someone watching at least 50% of a program. [17] On behalf of actors, SAG-AFTRA wanted 2% of the streaming revenue attributed to each show by Parrot Analytics, a third-party data firm; which would cover both made-for-streaming shows and shows licensed to streaming from other platforms.[18]

While much of the reporting has focused on residuals, AI and its unknowns are a large component of what took the WGA so long to reach an agreement and why SAG-AFTRA have not met for a considerable amount of time and, still, no talks are currently scheduled.[19] Writers not only worry about AI replacing them with the ability to write and edit scripts in minutes, but fear their scripts and performances being used to train AI, without receiving proper compensation, to produce better and more human-like work.[20] On the other hand, actors feared the use of AI to create digital replicas of their likenesses and performances which could be digitally altered without payment or approval and possibly eliminate a significant number of jobs, such as extras or background actors.[21] However, both unions sought to incorporate and regulate the growing use of AI into their respective fields, rather than outright banning its use.

The limited available information of WGA’s tentative deal suggests that the studios largely met the WGA’s demands, including increases in royalty payments on streaming content and guarantees that artificial intelligence will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation[22] Next steps will include the 11,500 members of WGA meeting to vote on the ratification of the contract.[23]

This strike’s success derives from union members reminding the nation of the efficacy of collective bargaining. The strike resulted in major economic effects both on a national and local level.[24] According to California’s Governor, their economy alone lost more than $5 billion from the Hollywood shutdown.[25] Further, Warner Bros. Discovery said that the dual strikes would reduce its adjusted earnings for the year by $300-$500 million and analysts estimated that studios could lose up to $1.6 billion in global ticket sales for movies that were pushed to next year due to the strike.[26]

However, the unionization efforts were not easy; many of the support workers for the industry, who do not qualify for union membership (e.g., makeup artists, set dressers, lighting technicians), felt the effects hardest of all and will not even benefit from the bargaining’s achievements.[27] Since September 1st, Hollywood workers requested over $45 million in hardship withdrawals from the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan and Ryan Murphy’s, American television writer and director, financial assistance fund for idled workers on his shows had $10 million in requests within days.[28] The Hollywood strike epitomized the principal that even with today’s decreased participation in unions, collective bargaining can be successful. It is more evident than ever that AI and its endless uses will affect every sector of labor.[29] However, the Hollywood strikes exemplify how labor unions still have power today and laid groundwork for what collective bargaining could look like across different industries when they

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[1] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[2] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[3] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023), https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[4] Matt Stevens, What to Know About the Actors’ Strike, New York Times (Sept. 24, 2023). https://www.nytimes.com/article/actors-strike-why.html?name=styln-hollywood-writers-strike&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=undefined.

[5] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[6] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[7] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[8] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[9] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[10] Mallika Sen and Jenifer Farrar, This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out, AP News (Jul. 18, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123.

[11] Gene Maddaus, Residuals Are Key to Nearly Every Strike in Hollywood History – Here’s Why, Variety (Sept. 21, 2023), https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/residuals-strike-hollywood-history-wga-sag-aftra-1235727986/.

[12] Gene Maddaus, Residuals Are Key to Nearly Every Strike in Hollywood History – Here’s Why, Variety (Sept. 21, 2023), https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/residuals-strike-hollywood-history-wga-sag-aftra-1235727986/.

[13] Matt Stevens, What to Know About the Actors’ Strike, New York Times (Sept. 24, 2023). https://www.nytimes.com/article/actors-strike-why.html?name=styln-hollywood-writers-strike&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=undefined.

[14] Matt Stevens, What to Know About the Actors’ Strike, New York Times (Sept. 24, 2023). https://www.nytimes.com/article/actors-strike-why.html?name=styln-hollywood-writers-strike&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=undefined.

[15] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[16] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[17] Gene Maddaus, Residuals Are Key to Nearly Every Strike in Hollywood History – Here’s Why, Variety (Sept. 21, 2023), https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/residuals-strike-hollywood-history-wga-sag-aftra-1235727986/.

[18] Gene Maddaus, Residuals Are Key to Nearly Every Strike in Hollywood History – Here’s Why, Variety (Sept. 21, 2023), https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/residuals-strike-hollywood-history-wga-sag-aftra-1235727986/.

[19] Yan Zhuang, Studios and Writers Reached a Deal. Here’s What Happens Next, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/wga-writers-strike-deal-explained.html?name=styln-hollywood-writers-strike&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=undefined.

[20] Ethan Marcotte, Why the Hollywood strike matters to all of us, WBUR (Aug. 15, 2023), https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/08/15/hollywood-writers-actors-strike-generative-artificial-intelligence-ethan-marcotte.

[21] John Koblin, Nicole Sperling, and Brooks Barnes, Hollywood’s Focus Turns to Actors After Writers Agree to Deal, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/actors-strike-negotiations.html?searchResultPosition=4.

[22] John Koblin, Nicole Sperling, and Brooks Barnes, Hollywood’s Focus Turns to Actors After Writers Agree to Deal, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/actors-strike-negotiations.html?searchResultPosition=4.

[23] Yan Zhuang, Studios and Writers Reached a Deal. Here’s What Happens Next, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/wga-writers-strike-deal-explained.html?name=styln-hollywood-writers-strike&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=undefined.

[24] Lydia DePillis, Impact of Hollywood Strikes on Jobs Goes Beyond the Strikers, New York Times (Sept. 1, 2023),  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/economy/hollywood-strikes-jobs-report.html?searchResultPosition=20.

[25] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[26] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[27] Lydia DePillis, Impact of Hollywood Strikes on Jobs Goes Beyond the Strikers, New York Times (Sept. 1, 2023),  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/economy/hollywood-strikes-jobs-report.html?searchResultPosition=20.

[28] Brooks Barnes and John Koblin, On Day 146, Screenwriters Reach Deal With Studios to End Their Strike, New York Times (Sept. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-deal.htm.

[29] Ethan Marcotte, Why the Hollywood strike matters to all of us, WBUR (Aug. 15, 2023), https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/08/15/hollywood-writers-actors-strike-generative-artificial-intelligence-ethan-marcotte.