The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to create SAG-AFTRA.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the generic term of two different American labor unions, representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media:
A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over the production, and the executive producer's role is limited to investing. In scripted comedy and drama TV shows, the showrunner also usually serves as the head writer. The role of a showrunner is not present on all television series, especially outside the US; this article describes the nature of the role where it is present.
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of the cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media. Residuals are calculated and administered by industry trade unions like SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America. The word is typically used in the plural form.
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media.
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 members.
From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with entertainment industry trade unions that include, among others, SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America West and East, the American Federation of Musicians, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike, which ran from March 7 to August 7, 1988, affected production on movies and TV shows. At 153 days, it remains the longest strike in the history of the WGA, surpassing the 1960 strike and the 2023 strike by 5 days each.
The 1960 Writers Guild of America strike was a labor dispute between the Guild and the Alliance of Television Film Producers. It lasted 148 days, from January 16 to June 12, 1960.
The 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5, 2007, was a labor conflict that affected a large number of television shows that were due to be broadcast in the United States during the 2007–2008 television season. Negotiators for the striking writers reached a tentative agreement on February 8, 2008, and the boards of both guilds unanimously approved the deal on February 10, 2008. Striking writers voted on February 12, 2008, to end the strike immediately, and on February 26, the WGA announced that the contract had been ratified with a 93.6% approval among WGA members.
Fans4Writers is a fan activist movement which supported the striking writers of the WGA during the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. The organization was not associated with the WGA, and indeed was notable for its unprecedented show of solidarity by individuals who were neither directly involved in contract negotiations, nor had a financial stake in the outcome.
"MILF Island" is the eleventh episode of NBC's second season of 30 Rock and thirty-second episode overall. It was written by the series' creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey, and producer Matt Hubbard. The director of the episode was Kevin Rodney Sullivan. It aired on April 10, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States. Guest stars in this episode include Timothy Adams, Rob Huebel, John Lutz and Maulik Pancholy.
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is an American labor union that reflects the 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA. It represents approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide. SAG-AFTRA is a member of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States. SAG-AFTRA is also a member of the International Federation of Actors (FIA).
The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in July–October 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. The strike was caused by a breakdown in labor contract negotiations between the two unions and representatives of film studios, television networks, and other independent producers. The primary point of contention regarded residuals from home media, such as videocassettes and pay television. Specifically, the union was seeking a form of profit sharing wherein they would receive a percentage of the revenue made from home media releases. Additionally, the unions wanted a 35 percent salary increase across the board for their members. By mid-July, the union and industry representatives were at an impasse, and the strike started on July 21. Several days later, the American Federation of Musicians also went on strike for similar reasons.
The 1982 animators' strike was a labor strike conducted by American animators in the Greater Los Angeles area. The strike, organized by the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Local 839, was caused by disagreements between the labor union and studios over runaway productions, a term referring to outsourcing production work to outside of the metropolitan area. The strike ran from August to October and ended in failure for the union, who failed to win concessions from the studios.
From May 2 to September 27, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). With a duration of 148 days, the strike is tied with the 1960 strike as the second-longest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed, only behind the 1988 strike. Alongside the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which continued until November, it was part of a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes. Both strikes contributed to the biggest interruption to the American film and television industries since the COVID-19 pandemic.
From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA was on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As the longest strike in SAG-AFTRA history, its combined impact with the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike resulted in the loss of 45,000 jobs, and "an estimated $6.5 billion" loss to the economy of Southern California. According to Deadline Hollywood, the "harshest pain" was "perhaps felt among the below-the-line workers who've had to sell or mortgage their homes, and wipe through IRAs to survive."
From May 2 to November 9, 2023, a series of long labor disputes within the film and television industries of the United States took place, mainly focused on the strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. It was the second time two Hollywood labor unions were striking simultaneously — the first having occurred in 1960 – and as such, the American news media named this phenomenon the "Hollywood double strike", and surpassed the 1960 dual strike as well. By November 9, 2023, both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA had reached tentative deals with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and ended their strikes.
