Writers Guild releases tentative agreement with AMPTP including $280 million in studio health plan contributions

The Writers Guild of America published a memorandum for a four-year contract with the AMPTP that the guild says would restore health-plan sustainability and deliver an estimated $280 million in studio contributions; the deal also includes minimum pay increases and new AI information provisions and will go to members for ratification.

The Writers Guild of America has released a memorandum of agreement for a four-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that will be sent to members for ratification. The guild called its main achievement restoring the health plan to a sustainable path after declines in writer contributions following the 2023 strikes and rising healthcare costs. The deal includes increases to health contributions, minimum pay raises, provisions affecting rewrite pay and writer coverage, and measures addressing studio use of artificial intelligence. Key details: - Studio contributions to the WGA health plan are estimated to reach $280 million during the contract cycle. - The health plan will receive a total infusion of $321 million, which includes a $25 million transfer and 0.25% annual contributions moved from the guild's over-funded Parental Leave fund. - The companies agreed to increase the health contribution rate by 3.25% upon ratification and to 16.75% by the second year, along with increases to health contribution caps. - Minimum pay increases total 10.5% over the contract term, with a larger first-year increase for Comedy-Variety writers. - For screenwriters, the agreement establishes a higher "page-one" rewrite minimum, expands the number of writers covered by the guaranteed second-step provision, and requires studios to notify producers that only employers may request work or receive direct delivery of scripts. - The guild says it expanded access to information on studio AI integration and added clauses requiring studios to meet with the WGA before licensing writers' work to train commercially available generative AI systems; individuals familiar with the talks said the AMPTP resisted establishing compensation for AI licensing during this contract cycle. Summary: The memorandum seeks to strengthen the WGA health plan and secures wage and contractual changes across several areas, including residuals and rewrite pay, and new AI transparency measures. If ratified by members, the four-year contract would break the three-year contract cycle that has been customary since the 1940s. Ratification by guild members is the next scheduled step.