Even if you have been following along with this column for the past couple of months, the 2023 writers and actors strikes have been jam-packed with negotiations, agreements, picketings and more than I could not and cannot fully cover in 500 words. Even if I could, the turnaround of some of the events can make your head spin (picture me hours before my Nov. 9 column is about to run as I see the actors strike has come to a close.)
So much has been snapshotted throughout this column’s run, and so as it draws to a close, let’s look at a simple timeline of the biggest events that happened in the strike. Let’s get into it!
Apr. 17
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) members vote to strike if the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) do not come to a deal on contract changes and better actor benefits.
May 2
The writers’ strike officially begins for the WGA guilds on both the East (New York, N.Y.) and West (Los Angeles, Calif.) Coasts.
July 11
Deadline Hollywood reports that major studios and producers plan to stretch out the strike until October and not return to the negotiating table until writers have less power due to financial strains.
July 14
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) officially begins their own strike against AMPTP and big studios.
July 17
NBCUniversal illegally prunes trees on Barham Boulevards sidewalk where many protestors chose to picket due to the shade offered. This causes NBCUniversal to be fined by the L.A. city government.
Aug. 10
The writers guild and studios agree to restart negotiations.
Aug. 21
Both strikes are paused for the day on the west coast due to the dangers of Hurricane Hilary in LA.
Sept. 24
The writers guild and major studios reach a tentative agreement during contract negotiations.
Sept. 27
The writers’ strike officially ends at midnight and writers return to the writers room.
Oct. 2
SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP meet again for contract negotiations.
Oct. 9
99% of WGA members vote in favor of ratifying the new contract. The contract’s term is from Sept. 25, until May 31, 2026.
Oct. 11
Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP come to a halt due to lack of agreements. They agree to meet throughout the rest of the month.
Oct. 16
SAG-AFTRA announces that it is scheduling contract negotiations for a new video game actors contract (as is in their domain).
Oct. 24
Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP restart and continue into November. The guild states they believe they are “in the final stretch.”
Nov. 9
The SAG-AFTRA strike officially ends at 12:01 a.m. and actors return to promotions and set.
So what even happened with the strikes? Well, a whole lot, clearly.
