Hollywood writers overwhelmingly vote to authorize strike

Writers in Hollywood represented by Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if union leadership decides to call for one amid contract negotiations with major studios.

The strike vote was approved, with 97.85% of members voting in favor and 2.15% voting against. More than 9,200 ballots were cast in the vote, with nearly 80%of all members participating in the vote. The results surpass the union’s strike vote results in 2017, where 6,310 ballots were cast with 96.3% voting in favor.

The WGA, which represents around 11,500 film and television writers, has characterized the new union contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) as an opportunity to reverse a trend in recent years of declining compensation for writers in the entertainment industry despite the industry consistently reporting multibillion-dollar profit margins.

The current contract ends on 1 May.

More details soon …