Why Did the Writers Guild Agree to a Four-Year Deal? Its Negotiators Explain.

As seen in The Hollywood Reporter

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America appeared to take no prisoners in its contract negotiations. The union’s leaders called a strike authorization vote less than a month in, negotiated down to the wire, then launched a strike that lasted nearly five months and only ended once some of the industry’s top CEOs got involved.

So it was understandable when, this year, heads spun as that same union handled its latest contract negotiations very differently. After just three weeks of talks, the WGA cut a surprise deal with the studios that was distinct in its concession to a key studio demand, for a longer deal (four years instead of the typical three) to assure a sustained period of labor peace.

So what happened? It was clear the WGA’s health plan was in dire straits, which affected the union’s leverage, but had the typically aggressive union undergone a complete personality replacement?

Not so, some of its top negotiators said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Yes, the WGA needed to take dramatic steps to secure its health plan. But under the new leadership of Gregory Hessinger, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers also “came ready to talk about really what we needed and what they needed,” said negotiating committee co-chair Danielle Sanchez-Witzel.

And don’t go thinking that the WGA will always agree to a four-year deal cycle from here on out, added WGA West president Michele Mulroney. “I think it’d be fair to say our goal is to go back to three years,” she said.

Members still have to weigh in on whether they’re happy with these deal terms; their ratification voting period will end on Friday.