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As the Writers Guild strike enters its third week, the guild’s bargaining committee sent a message to WGA members today which it dubbed ‘The Cost of Setting Up’ (read below ). They argue that “the studios risk significant ongoing disruption in the weeks and months to come that would far exceed installation costs.”
The union estimates that its “proposals on the table when the contract expires on May 1 would collectively cost the industry $429 million a year, of which approximately $343 million is attributable to eight of our largest employers.”
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“These companies have made billions in profits from the work of writers, and they speak to their investors quarterly about the importance of scripted content,” reads the letter signed by David A. Goodman, Chris Keyser, Ellen Stutzman and more. two dozen others.
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Here is the full message from the bargaining committee to the members:
DEAR MEMBERS:
The Writers Guild of America has now been on strike for two weeks because the AMPTP refuses to negotiate a fair deal to address the existential crisis facing writers.
The WGA estimates that the proposals on the table when the contract expires on May 1 would collectively cost the industry $429 million annually, of which approximately $343 million is attributable to eight of our largest employers.
For perspective, tens of billions are being spent creating programming writers, $19 billion just for original content from streaming services this year. And the cost of these proposed improvements is modest compared to industry revenues and profits, but essential for writers whose pay and working conditions have eroded over the past decade.
What would the cost of our contract proposals currently on the table look like, company by company? Look at:
WGA
These companies have made billions in profits from the work of writers, and they educate their investors quarterly about the importance of scripted content. Yet they risk significant ongoing disruption in the weeks and months to come, which would far exceed settlement costs.
IN SOLIDARITY,
WGA BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Here are all the signers of today’s message:
