WGAW’s Staff Union Negotiations

Yes. The WGAW invited the PNWSU to come back to the bargaining table on February 22nd and improved its comprehensive proposal in a number of areas to try to reach agreement and end the strike. The moves included a wage scale with increases to minimum salaries and annual wage increases, additional wage increases for longevity in position, just cause protections, and 2 compensatory days off for exempt employees assigned to MBA negotiations and contract or organizing campaigns. 

In response, the PNWSU reiterated its meritless charge of surface bargaining.

The WGAW again met with the PNWSU on March 11th to try to reach a deal and presented a seventh comprehensive proposal. 

The Guild’s revised offer included:

• A wage scale with step increases similar to the one in the WGAE staff union contract, which the staff union has cited as a model.
• Increases to the Year 1 wage increase to 4%, retroactive to January, which is on top of the 3% wage increase provided in August 2025 (the cumulative Year 1 wage increase therefore is a minimum of 7% for all staff).
• An additional 4% wage increase in August 2026, and then another 4% wage increase in August 2027 have been previously offered.
• Additional longevity wage increases for 15 years of service in a position, which is on top of the longevity increases for 5 and 10 years of service previously offered. Upon ratification staff who have been in their positions for 5 or more years will receive additional increases of 2-6%.

At the staff union’s request, on March 17 and March 24, the Guild met with leaders of the PNWSU bargaining team and outlined the path to a deal.

Then on April 8, the Guild updated its offer with an eighth comprehensive proposal. The Guild’s April 8 proposal increased Health Fund contributions on bargaining unit employees’ compensation from the current 13% to 16.25% effective May 2, 2026 and 16.75% effective May 2, 2027. The Guild did not propose to divert any wage increases towards Health Fund contributions (under the 2026 MBA, there is a 1.5% diversion from writers’ minimums in year 1 of the agreement to the Health Fund).

The WGAW’s pre-strike proposal was already a full, robust contract with salaries, benefits, and employee protections that are among the best for any union staff in Los Angeles. The Guild’s March 11th and April 8th offers improved on this.

The Guild spends roughly $9 million annually on salaries for the staff in the bargaining unit and the first year increases we have offered amount to $800,000 in additional pay. The increased Health Fund contributions mean the WGAW will pay more than $300,000 in additional Health Fund contributions for the year following May 2, 2026, which is on top of the $800,000 in additional pay already offered in the first year of the agreement. The staff union has rejected all the Guild’s offers made during their strike.

• The staff union wants a no-strike clause that allows them to strike during the term of the contract if they feel an unfair labor practice has been committed, instead of using the grievance/arbitration procedure or filing a complaint with the NLRB. We want members to have the security of knowing that important Guild campaigns and events will not be disrupted during the term of the agreement. The Guild cannot compromise its ability to operate while there is a staff union collective bargaining agreement in effect. The Guild’s no strike proposal restricts the staff union from striking in the same way the Guild is restricted under the MBA’s no strike clause.
• The staff union wants seniority to be the exclusive factor determining promotions and layoffs, and to allow displaced employees in turn to “bump” employees with less seniority than they have. The Guild's goal should always be to have the best employee in any given position, regardless of the duration of their employment. While the type of seniority system proposed by the staff union might work elsewhere, it doesn’t at the Guild where there are 18 departments and distinctive job responsibilities requiring a varying range of skills, abilities, and experience. Under the staff union’s proposal, someone subject to layoff could bump someone less senior in the same or lower classification in any department, and that employee could then displace someone else less senior, and so on. The amount of disruption, training, and time lost that could instead be spent working on writers’ issues makes this type of seniority system untenable. The Guild’s proposal acknowledges seniority as a factor for both promotions and layoffs.
• The staff union continues to demand a “standard union wage step scale.” To be clear, there is no such thing; there are many different kinds of wage scales and compensation structures in union contracts. However, since the staff union has cited the WGAE unionized staff’s wage scale as a model, the Guild in March adjusted its proposal to match the WGAE staff union structure. The Guild’s proposal has minimums for each classification that increase over the term of the contract, annual raises for all staff, and additional increases based on longevity. The Guild spends roughly $9 million annually on salaries for the staff in the bargaining unit, and the first year increases we have offered amount to $800,000 in additional pay.
  
  PNWSU/WGSU-represented employees receive the same health insurance as writers and as a result of the just-concluded MBA negotiations, the Guild will pay more than $300,000 per year in Health Fund contributions for employees represented by the staff union starting in May. While the 3.25% increase in the contribution rate in the MBA includes a 1.5% diversion from writers’ minimums in year 1 of the agreement, the WGAW has confirmed with the staff union that none of the staff’s wage increases will be affected by the increased contributions to health, which will be fully borne by the Guild.

The PNWSU will eventually either choose to agree to the Guild’s final offer and end the strike, or end the strike without a contract agreement.

Over the past month the Guild made it clear to the staff union that further modifications to our proposal were not going to happen. The Guild has clarified once more that the final offer is on the table. Agreeing to mediation, would only give false hope that further movement is possible, or that there is some sort of middle ground, which is not the case, and could even prolong the strike.

No. This is an eligibility issue governed by the Writers’ Guild-Industry Health Fund rules which have been in effect since at last 2020. As of April 1st, WGAW employees who have been on strike since February 17th no longer meet the eligibility requirements for coverage under the Writers’ Guild (PWGA) Health Fund, which require Guild staff to work at least 31 hours in a week during the month prior to when eligibility begins. Striking employees were therefore eligible in March since they had worked in February prior to their strike. They were informed they would be eligible for May 1 coverage by returning to work by April 20. They will next be eligible for June 1 coverage if they return on or before May 18 and work at least 31 hours that week (the Guild’s regular workday is 7.5 hours/day). Strikers can elect COBRA continuation coverage if they wish to be covered by the PWGA Health Plan.

No. While Guild employees are covered under the same health plan as WGA members, staff’s coverage is month-to-month. Guild staff begin receiving coverage on the 1st day of the month after eligibility requirements are met, and their coverage ends on the last day of the month in which they no longer meet those requirements. 

Non-supervisory staff at the WGAW are represented by the Pacific Northwest Staff Union (PNWSU), a labor union that represents the staff of a number of labor unions and non-profits.

The PNWSU has no paid staff and relies on volunteers and elected leadership to organize and negotiate contracts. The chief negotiator for the WGAW staff union is PNWSU President Brandon Tippy, who is a staff member of an SEIU local in Washington state. There are 27 WGAW employees on the staff union’s negotiating committee, about 20% of the bargaining unit.

PNWSU represents 115 non-supervisory staff who work at the Guild. Around 50 executive, supervisory/management, and confidential staff are outside the bargaining unit. This unit was agreed upon by both the Guild and the PNWSU during the voluntary recognition process last April.

No. Under the Guild’s Constitution, management of the WGAW staff and operations is delegated to Executive Director Ellen Stutzman. The Board does not have a role in overseeing Guild employee relations nor did it have a role in negotiating the PNWSU contract, though Ellen regularly updated the Board about the status of negotiations. You can read the Board’s statement on the PNWSU’s announcement of their strike authorization vote and the Board’s statement on the PNWSU’s strike.

The WGAW already offers competitive salaries and benefits as a non-profit, union employer. All unions are required by federal labor law to publicly disclose the salaries of every staff member on an annual basis, which provides transparency to all employees and job-seekers in the labor movement. Some of the status quo terms include:

• Annual wage increases normally equal to the minimum increases that writers have negotiated in the MBA;
• Participation in the same PWGA Health and Pension Funds writers struck to establish, and have fought to fund;
• 401k retirement plan with matching employer contributions;
• Tax-advantaged health and dependent expense savings programs;
• 11 paid holidays;
• 12-25 vacation days per year, based on years of service;
• 12 sick days per year and the ability to accrue six months of sick leave;
• Paid parental leave;
• 37.5-hour workweek for fulltime employees;
• 2 days of remote work per week, provided job duties don’t require more in-office time.

Over the course of negotiations with the PNWSU, the WGAW made proposals that improve on the existing wages, hours and working conditions of Guild staff.

This summary shows the state of WGAW and PNWSU proposals. The Guild opened with a comprehensive offer which was improved over the course of 21 bargaining sessions.

See the final WGAW proposal (with contract language) to PNWSU for more details.

No. The Guild offered the following AI protections, which the PNWSU agreed to:

• The Guild has no intent to use GAI or Agentic AI in a manner that would result in a reduction in bargaining unit positions.
• The parties can discuss any potential uses of GAI or Agentic AI in the Labor-Management Committee.
• If the Guild intends to use GAI or Agentic AI in a way that impacts wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment, the Guild will bargain with the PNWSU over the decision and effects of using GAI or Agentic AI as required under the National Labor Relations Act.
• If the Guild uses GAI or Agentic AI, the Guild will provide paid training during work hours for any employee who is required to use GAI or Agentic AI.
• The Guild confirms that any use of GAI or Agentic AI will not result in a reduction in bargaining unit positions.
• Any data collected and/or processed by GAI or Agentic AI systems must comply with applicable privacy laws, and shall not be used to undermine collective bargaining rights.

The foundation of the MBA was laid 90 years ago and built up over the decades. So when the WGA sits across from the AMPTP, writers are seeking modifications to a discrete set of terms that are part of a well-established, intricate 700-page agreement. In addition, the companies represented by the AMPTP are some of the largest corporations in the world and generate billions in profit based on the works writers create. The WGAW is a non-profit labor union funded by the dues paid by each member.

For more than six months, the Guild and the staff union were negotiating a first contract, which is often a longer and more challenging process. In a first contract, every word and clause must be discussed thoroughly and agreed upon during bargaining to be sure both sides understand its intent and how the contract will work in practice.

The Guild tried to meet as many of the PNWSU’s concerns as possible, and find compromises on others.

No. The Guild immediately granted recognition of the staff union through a card check process. The WGAW Board congratulated Guild staff on forming a union, and stated that “[t]he right to organize and collectively bargain are central tenets of our organization.” After the PNWSU announced its strike authorization vote, the Board reiterated that it “continues to support the staff’s right to engage in collective action.”

Prior to the strike, Guild staff leadership allowed staff union representatives to participate in disciplinary meetings on paid time, supervisors were trained to refrain from discussing the staff union with those in the bargaining unit; and concerns raised by PNWSU were swiftly investigated. Staff leadership provided PNWSU with requested information to prepare for bargaining, on-site space for bargaining unit meetings, and made representatives available for 21 bargaining dates so far. Despite PNWSU allegations, no employee has been retaliated against for their union activity and staff leadership has made it clear to all supervisors that anti-union activity will not be tolerated. When PNWSU alleges unfair treatment, the Guild asks for evidence, investigates claims, and takes corrective action if warranted.

The Guild’s staff leadership handled negotiations with the same approach. The first proposal to the staff union was comprehensive and contained important union protections, 3% annual increases to salaries across the board in Years 2 and 3 as opening wage increases (in addition to 3% already given the first year), plus increases to starting salaries of some entry level positions, and an extra holiday. The Guild improved its comprehensive proposals as the negotiations proceeded, including robust AI protections that preserve bargaining unit positions. We’ve prepared a summary of the status of WGAW and PNWSU proposals, and you can read the WGAW’s final comprehensive proposal to the staff union.

The core work of the Guild is continuing, supported by the 50 staff (30% of the entire Guild staff) not in the bargaining unit.

MBA negotiations in particular were minimally impacted since the executive staff and managers who play key roles working directly with the WGA Negotiating Committee were not on strike.

During the PNWSU strike, the Guild’s headquarters at 3rd and Fairfax is closed to members and the public, including the Foundation library and member lounge. Guild screenings at the Writers Guild Theater and events are suspended.

Guild inboxes are being monitored, so please reach out if you have a current enforcement issue that needs immediate attention or contact us if you have other time-sensitive Guild business.

No, the Guild has not solicited bargaining unit staff to work during the strike.

No. A member of the staff was terminated for performance issues prior to the PNWSU launching its union recognition drive in April of 2025. Since the staff union organized, two staff members have been terminated for cause. In both instances, the PNWSU represented the two employees during the discipline process and the Guild provided the PNWSU the information relevant to the terminations. During negotiations for the first contract with the PNWSU, the WGAW offered interim just cause discipline protections, as well as a grievance and arbitration procedure, which would have allowed the PNWSU to arbitrate whether there was just cause for the two terminations. The PNWSU rejected the WGAW’s offer.

Because this is a first contract negotiation, there is neither a ‘no strike clause’ nor a contract deadline, which allowed the PNWSU to strike at any time.

No, the Guild began MBA negotiations on March 16, 2026, and it reached a tentative agreement on April 4. The MBA was ratified on April 24. The Guild had a duty to its members to negotiate the MBA even during the staff union work stoppage, and secured necessary funding to protect the PWGA Health Fund, which provides health care for writers and all full-time WGAW staff.

The Guild executive staff and managers who played key roles working directly with the WGA Negotiating Committee were not on strike.

You can read more about 2026 MBA Negotiations here.