This week, the Writers Guild of America is set to meet with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to resume negotiations after last meeting on Aug. 18.
On Monday morning, the WGA confirmed that the meeting with the AMPTP will take place on Wednesday in an email that was sent to its members. The union — representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media — have been on strike for 140 days.
“The WGA and AMPTP now have a confirmed schedule to bargain this week, starting on Wednesday,” read the union’s email, as per Variety. “You might not hear from us in the coming days while we are negotiating, but know that our focus is getting a fair deal for writers as soon as possible. We’ll reach out again when there is something of significance to report.”
It been a month since the WGA and the major studio alliance last met at the AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Following their Aug. 18 meeting, four studio heads met with several WGA leaders on Aug. 22 at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, which the WGA described as an intentional “lecture” to “jam” the guild into accepting the studios’ Aug. 11 offer. Since then, the two sides have not met.
The WGA reportedly requested a meeting last Wednesday upon calling the AMPTP, as per the alliance. Meanwhile, the WGA confirmed that only the two sides had been discussing plans to restart talks, but did not confirm who made the call first.
The WGA and the AMPTP remain distant on streaming residuals and a proposal for a required staff size in TV writers rooms. However, the two have made progress on artificial intelligence regulations, despite their ongoing disagreement over whether WGA writers’ work can be used to train AI systems.
