\n\tThe (big) deal also includes AI protections and an uptick in fees and residuals for streaming, we\u2019re told.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe fact that the two sides reached a deal relatively expeditiously will come as a surprise to many. <\/p>\n
\n\tIn what we hear was a congenial\u00a0atmosphere very different from the later years of Carol Lombardini\u2019s reign at the AMPTP<\/a>, the organization and the WGA leadership started talks in mid-March. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about all these issues in a very collaborative way,\u201d a labor<\/a> insider told Deadline of the tone between Executive Director and chief negotiator\u00a0Ellen Stutzman<\/a> and the AMPTP in the room at SAG-AFTRA HQ the past few weeks.<\/p>\n \n\tBoth sides are silent right now, but a release from the WGA and the AMPTP is expected soon(ish). Stutzman has been in the process of putting the final touches on the deal and providing details to others outside the WGA Negotiating Committee throughout the morning, it seems<\/p>\n \n\tAs always, the provisional agreement between the scribes, who also face striking staff on the West Coast, and the AMPTP will have to be voted on by WGA members to be finalized. Full details about the deal, which comes far ahead of the writers guild\u2019s May 30 contract expiration, are typically released after the ratification. <\/p>\n \n\tAs we\u2019ve repeatedly reported, jobs, jobs, jobs was at the mutual heart of the talks in a Hollywood hit hard by the movement of production out of America and declining levels of traditional projects on both the small and big screen. That\u2019s likely to be the same for the other two above-the-line unions, which still need to finalize their contracts with the AMPTP.<\/p>\n \n\tIt remains to be seen how the DGA and SAG-AFTRA might respond to the writers guild agreeing to extend its contract by one year. With the WGA, long the most strident of the guilds, on board, the longer contract could become the norm.<\/p>\n \n\tAfter a pause earlier this month<\/a> to make way for the WGA talks, negotiation are set to pick up with the Sean Astin-run SAG-AFTRA in June, if not sooner. The Christopher Nolan-led DGA will sit down with ex-SAG boss Hessinger and AMPTP mediators next month.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tSAG-AFTRA and DGA<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSAG-AFTRA \/ DGA<\/p>\n \n\tOnce Stutzman wraps up these joint negotiations for the WGA East and West, she will likely be needed at another bargaining table. <\/p>\n \n\tThe WGA West staff has been on strike for more than seven weeks, having levied several unfair labor practice allegations at the western division\u2019s management. While the WGAW denies any wrongdoing, it appears rank-and-file members are growing frustrated<\/a> with the way things have played out thus far.<\/p>\n \n\tThe WGAW has done little to engage with the staff since the work stoppage, though we hear that there has been a few bargaining dates. Clearly, they were not fruitful, considering the staff continued to walk a picket line outside of the SAG-AFTRA building every day during WGA-AMPTP talks. <\/p>\n \n\tHowever, management did try to assuage member concerns that the staff strike would not hinder the dealmaking process. We hear that WGAW management has been pretty laser focused on getting the AMPTP deal done with relative ease and, now that they seem to have accomplished that, will turn their attention to resolving the impasse with staff. <\/p>\n![\"SAG-AFTRA](\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-deadline-2019\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.jpg\")
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