Members of the Writers Guild of America have overwhelmingly voted to ratify the union’s new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, completing the first step in the 2026 Hollywood labor cycle as the AMPTP is set to resume talks with SAG-AFTRA next week.
Out of the 4,738 votes received, 90.4% were in favor of ratification of the deal, which in a rare but not unheard-of departure from norms will last for four years instead of three.
“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,” said WGAW President Michele Mulroney. “We could not have achieved that without a thoughtful negotiating committee led by co-chairs Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and John August, the WGAW Board and WGAE Council, and our professional WGA staff. We thank all writers who supported us during the process.”
Insiders on both sides of the talk told TheWrap that negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP were far more productive than in years past, in good part out of the urgency to secure a deal that would avert a strike like the one that lasted 118 days in 2023 and would ensure the financial solvency of the guild’s struggling health plan.
The WGA health plan reported $122 million in losses in 2023 and 2024 due to rising costs and reduced work that was a downstream effect of the writers’ strike. As part of the new agreement, the plan will be infused with $321 million in new contributions, with $280 million of it coming from studios in the largest infusion of employer-side contributions in the guild’s history.
But the trade-off will be increased costs for plan members starting in 2027, including a minimum monthly premium of $75 for single participants and up to $200 for participants with multiple dependents, along with increases in out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. In addition, the minimum earnings threshold will jump in July 2027 from $46,759 to $53,773, 110% of the one-hour network primetime story and teleplay minimum.
Other elements of the contract include minimum increases totaling 10.5% over the term of the contract, with a higher increase for Comedy-Variety writers in the first year of the contract. Increases in high budget streaming residuals were negotiated as well as increases to the bonus structure for high-performing films and TV shows on streaming that was established to end the 2023 strike. For screenwriters, new minimums were established for “page one” rewrites of pre-existing scripts, starting at $31,500 for low-budget projects and $57,500 for high-budget.
The AMPTP will now resume its talks with SAG-AFTRA, which began back in February and were paused in mid-March after five weeks of talks to allow scheduled negotiations with WGA to begin. The two sides will have two weeks to negotiate further before the scheduled start of Directors Guild talks on May 11. SAG-AFTRA’s current contract expires on June 30.
The WGA West, meanwhile, still must resolve an ongoing two-month strike conducted by its own staffers over pay scale, AI protections and a structured promotion system among other demands.
“The AMPTP congratulates the WGA on the ratification of its new contract, which includes historic investments in the writers’ health plan, meaningful improvements in residuals and wages, and important safeguards for their work,” a spokesperson for the AMPTP said later Friday. “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.”
On Friday, the Writers Guild Staff Union through its parent union, the Pacific Northwest Staff Union, sent a letter to WGA West urging the guild to meet for another round of negotiations this Sunday or to jointly request mediation services through the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service.
