Statement from 2020 MBA Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Michele Mulroney, Shawn Ryan and Betsy Thomas Dashboard Dashboard

We are pleased to recommend ratification of the 2020 Minimum Basic Agreement now before you. We make this recommendation on behalf of the entire joint WGAW-WGAE Negotiating Committee, which unanimously supports ratification.

Even though the 2020 MBA negotiations took place during the ongoing global pandemic and related economic uncertainty, the Guild was able to secure needed funding for our Pension Plan and achieve several writer-specific gains, including improvements to options & exclusivity and span protections, and a first of its kind portable paid parental leave benefit. In addition, the proposed contract includes improvements that track those recently negotiated by other guilds: increases in SVOD residuals, lowering of SVOD budget breaks, and elimination of the exemption from higher rates for most HBSVOD shows first written under earlier MBAs..

It is an understatement to say that this was an unusual negotiation. The negotiating teams never met in person. The parties bargained remotely via Zoom until the extended MBA expiration date on June 30. Despite this, the Guild was able to achieve what we think is a fair deal, which we now submit to you for ratification.

In total, the negotiated improvements are valued at more than $200 million over three years, effective retroactive to May 2, 2020 and continuing through May 1, 2023. We have given you in separate documents both a comprehensive summary of the contract settlement (here) and the actual contract language of the 2020 MBA (here).

The Guild was able to achieve these gains without agreeing to significant writer-specific rollbacks. This does not mean that the deal contains no compromises. Like the other guilds before us, we agreed that programs licensed for reuse in the broadcast syndication market after July 1, 2020 will pay a residual of 2% of the license fee instead of the prior fixed residual formula, which will likely result in markedly lower residual payments for reuse in syndication. However, programs already licensed for broadcast syndication will continue to pay fixed residuals under existing license agreements, as well as any optional renewals or extensions.

There were also objectives that we did not achieve, like application of comedy/variety minimums to SVOD, theatrical minimums for made-for SVOD features, and script fees for staff writers. And while we were able to achieve a paid parental leave benefit, the deal does not include other meaningful gains we sought related to writer inclusion and equity. We will work to achieve those goals through other avenues, as well as in future MBA negotiations.

We wish to thank our talented professional staff led by WGAW Executive Director and chief negotiator David Young. This agreement could not have been reached without their tireless efforts on behalf of all writers. We are lucky to have them.

Negotiating Committee Members

Michele Mulroney (Co-Chair)
Shawn Ryan (Co-Chair)
Betsy Thomas (Co-Chair)

Liz Alper
Arash Amel
John August
Amy Berg
Ashley Nicole Black
Adam Brooks
Francesca Butler
Patti Carr
Robb Chavis
Meg DeLoatch
Travis Donnelly
Kate Erickson
Dante W. Harper
Eric Heisserer
Melissa London Hilfers
Elliott Kalan
Chris Keyser
Adele Lim
Peter Murrieta
Luvh Rakhe
Dailyn Rodriguez
Erica Saleh
Sara Schaefer
David Slack
Lauren Ashley Smith
Meredith Stiehm
Patric M. Verrone

David A. Goodman, WGAW President, ex-officio
Beau Willimon, WGAE President, ex-officio
Marjorie David, WGAW Vice President, ex-officio

Kathy McGee, WGAE Vice President, ex-officio
Bob Schneider, WGAE Secretary-Treasurer, ex-officio