As the Hollywood writers strike reached its 114th day Thursday, WGA leadership told its members that the offer it received from the studios is not “nearly enough.”
The two sides have been engaged in tense negotiations since they agreed to come back to the bargaining table on Aug. 11, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The companies’ counteroffer is neither nothing, nor nearly enough,” an email from the WGA said Wednesday.
“We will continue to advocate for proposals that fully address our issues rather than accept half measures like those mentioned above and other proposals not listed here,” the organization added.
On Tuesday, the studios had submitted a formal proposal which offered the “highest wage increase for the WGA in 35 years: a compounded 13% increase over the three-year contract.”
The six-page document was released by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), and also showed a commitment to “data transparency” in viewership and protection against the use of AI, among other items of concern.
“Our priority is to end the strike so that valued members of the creative community can return to what they do best and to end the hardships that so many people and businesses that service the industry are experiencing,” wrote AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.
WGA leadership criticized the offer as an attempt “not to bargain, but to jam us,” and wrote in a Thursday memo to its members that it was “a version of giving with one hand and taking back with the other.”
In the memo, they reiterated the fact that their demands are affordable for the studios. A chart attached to the document showed their requests accounted for an average of 0.076% of the studios’ yearly earnings.