Writers and Actors Strikes

Three quarters of UK film and TV professionals were out of work for months this year due to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) industrial disputes.

Strike action impacted the employment, finances and mental health of thousands of freelance workers in the UK who rely on US TV and film productions filming in the UK.

Costume designers, set designers, videographers, fashion designers and animators are examples of the professions that rely on freelance work in the TV and film industries.

WGA went on strike on 2 May 2023 and SAG-AFTRA also went on strike on 14 July, calling upon the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to resolve the dispute.

The strikes were over issues such as compensation, minimum staffing of writers' rooms, residual payments in the streaming era, regulation of the use of AI and more.

WGA accepted an offer proposed by AMPTP on 11 August and SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative agreement with AMPTP on 9 November.

Image credit: Prospect Union

The three-year deal agreed between WGA and AMPTP includes a 12.5% pay increase, starting with 5% from when the contract is ratified. During the following two years, writers will receive 4% and 3.5% increases respectively.

They will receive a 76% increase in foreign streaming residuals. Studios must hire at least three writer-producers for a guaranteed ten consecutive weeks during the development of a series. This will increase to 20 weeks of guaranteed work and five writer-producers when projects are greenlighted.

They will receive a streaming bonus based on viewership between $9k and $40.5k and the AMPTP agreed to share the total number of hours streamed with the writer.

The deal includes the establishment of a set of guidelines on the use of AI in MBA-covered productions. AI cannot write or rewrite library material and library material cannot by considered source material. Use of writers' material to train AI is not permitted and if any material they receive is AI generated, writers must be informed.

Map of strike action

Image credit: Prospect Union

The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), which represents a variety of UK creative professionals, has supported the strike action by WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Bectu's members share the same concerns as actors and writers and are relying on the resolution of disputes to enable them return to work.

A spokesperson for Bectu said: "This is a fight with many of the same employers who frequently undervalue crew in the UK, and therefore our solidarity with US actors and writers is important for raising standards domestically and globally."

They held a demonstration in Leicester Square on 5 October to highlight the US disputes' impact on UK film and TV workers, and called on the AMPTP to negotiate a swift and fair resolution.

Eighty percent of Bectu's members who responded to a survey have had their employment directly impacted by the US industrial disputes.

TV and film workers in the UK have been worried about their financial security and struggling with their mental health because of loss of work and/or financial worries.

Nine in ten respondents to Bectu's survey said they are worried about their financial security, and six in ten reported struggling with their mental health as a result of loss of work and/or financial worries.

Other key findings include:

35% are struggling to pay household bills, rent or mortgages
15% have taken out a loan or other unsecured debt to pay bills
One in ten are considering moving in with parents or other family to help with costs
Nearly a quarter said they did not see themselves working in the industry in the next five years.

Lucy Porter is a 31-year-old freelance costume designer who lives in Brighton and works in London and surrounding areas.

She has worked on productions such as Cruella and Ant Man 3, and for Disney, Marvel, Eurovision, ITV, Channel 4, Netflix, HBO, and much more.

Despite having fourteen years of experience in the industry, she has been struggling to find work because of the strikes.

When asked about how the strikes are affecting her and her colleagues, Lucy said: "No income, not knowing if you should retrain or look for something else or applying for another job, confused purpose and a lot of uncertainty.

"Everyone could benefit from the strikes because they're voicing the same concerns that we all have, but for their particular department.

"It depends on what changes happen as a result of the negotiations and whether those changes trickle down to other departments."

She said: "I don't think a lot of people realise that a lot of American shows and production companies film in the UK.

"Although you might not think much about what's happening in Hollywood, it's impacting UK industry and local jobs."

When asked why she is concerned about AI, Lucy said:

AMPTP has said: “The tentative agreement with SAG-AFTRA represents a new paradigm.

"It gives actors the biggest contract-on-contract gains in the history of the union, including the largest increase in minimum wages in the last forty years; a brand new residual for streaming programs; extensive consent and compensation protections in the use of artificial intelligence; and sizable contract increases on items across the board.

"The AMPTP is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

TV and film workers are expected to return to work but many have been borrowing money to live off while production was halted throughout the pandemic and strike action. Some will be continuing to pay off debts for a long time.