WGA West Staff Goes On Strike Ahead Of Writers Union’s AMPTP Talks

The Writers Guild of America West’s staff has gone on strike.

A month before the writers guild is set to bargain with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Writers Guild Staff Union has called a work stoppage until further notice, the group said Tuesday. WGSU members are expected to picket outside the WGA West offices in Los Angeles.

The union staff organized last spring and have been negotiating their first contract with management intermittently since September. The WGSU has repeatedly accused management of bad faith bargaining, claiming Tuesday that employers have “surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.”

These developments come after the WGSU filed a ULP charge against the WGA West with the National Labor Relations Board, suggesting that a member of the organizing committee was unlawfully fired.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for the WGA West said: “The WGAW respects the staff union’s right to strike, and will continue to bargain in good faith. During the course of 19 negotiating sessions since September, the Guild has offered the staff union comprehensive proposals with numerous union protections and improvements to compensation and working conditions. PNWSU’s allegations of unfair labor practices are without merit. The WGAW Board, WGA Negotiating Committee and executive staff will continue to prepare for the upcoming MBA negotiations, and management staff will carry on the core functions of the Guild. We look forward to a resolution of a first contract with the staff union.”

In response to the WGSU’s strike authorization earlier this month, the WGAW released a side-by-side comparison of both parties’ proposals and counterproposals.

In a note to members on Tuesday, the WGAW announced that guild headquarters would be closed to members and the public until further notice. All upcoming guild events are also cancelled, including the two meetings set this week to discuss the WGA’s bargaining priorities ahead of talks with the AMPTP, guild leadership said.

The timing is less than ideal, considering that the WGA is set to begin negotiating a new TV/Theatrical contract with the major Hollywood studios in March. The current contract expires May 1.

The WGAW staff union is represented by the Pacific Northwest Staff Union. It encompasses residuals & dues processors, IT & data management workers, organizers, communications specialists, legal personnel, researchers, Writers Guild Theater employees, contract enforcement staff, and more.