Writers Strike Averted as WGA, Producers Reach Last-Minute Deal

picket sign addresses the question of whether the strike may end soon while Writers Guild of America members and supporters picket in front of NBC studios as hope grows that a draft copy of a proposed deal with Hollywood studios being completed today could lead to an end to the three-month old Hollywood writers strike within days, on February 8, 2008 in Burbank, California.

The Writers Guild of America avoided a strike like the one that rocked the film and TV industries in 2008. (Getty Images).

At the last minute, the Writers Guild of America and the organization representing producers wrote a happy ending to avert a strike that would have crippled the TV and film industries.

The work stoppage had been set for May 2, but a three-year deal was reached between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The stakes were high: The last writers strike lasted for 100 days—between November 5, 2007 and February 12, 2008—delayed the television season and scuttled a number of high-profile movie projects.

The cost to the California economy alone if a writers strike had kicked off Tuesday would have been an estimated $200 million a week, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Terms of the deal have yet to be released, but the WGA demands included raises in script fees, an improvement in pay for those working on shows for cable and streaming video at on-demand outlets, and contributions to a health plan.

“The Writers Guilds of America, West and East and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have concluded negotiations and have reached a tentative agreement on terms for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement,” the two groups said in joint a statement.

Read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter

—RealClearLife