Writers Guild of America members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a work stoppage if their negotiators fail to reach a contract deal with studios by May 1.
About 96 percent of writers voted yes on the measure, according to an e-mail the guild's negotiating committee sent to members late Monday afternoon, a few hours after voting closed. The 6,310 ballots cast represented 67.5 percent of eligible W.G.A. members in what the guild called "a historic turnout."
Guild negotiators resume contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Tuesday morning, and will have less than a week to strike a deal that addresses such thorny issues as pay for TV writers and employer contributions to the health fund.
Without a deal, writers will stop work on May 2, potentially crippling many TV shows, including late-night programs, Saturday Night Live, and scripted shows shooting in May, such as The Walking Dead and American Horror Story.
The previous walkout started in November 2007 and lasted 100 days, shutting down more than 60 TV shows and accelerating a trend away from broadcast-TV viewing as reruns replaced new episodes.The work stoppage ultimately cost California 37,700 jobs and more than $2 billion, according to the Milken Institute.
Hollywood has been bracing for the possibility of another strike for weeks, with producers stockpiling scripts and studios forming contingency plans.
“It is certainly impacting the stress,” One Day at a Time writer-producer Mike Royce said recently of the looming contract deadline. Royce’s team recently got back in the writers room after Netflix picked up its show for a second season. “When May 1 hits, we would normally be rolling along.”
