Pay minimums rise 10.5 percent, page-one rewrites get a floor, health contributions go up and studios must notify the Guild before licensing scripts to AI

Screenwriters have a new contract. Members of the Writers Guild of America approved the new Minimum Basic Agreement with the studios’ bargaining group, the AMPTP, by 90.38 percent, with 4,282 voting in favour and 456 against, according to Broadcast. Turnout was 4,738 of more than 11,000 members, well below the roughly 9,000 who voted on the 2023 deal. The agreement runs four years, from May 2, 2026 through May 1, 2030, rather than the customary three. For anyone who writes, sells or wants to sell scripts, the terms set the baseline for the working conditions of the next four years.

How the Deal Came Together

As NPR reported on April 5, the Guild and the AMPTP announced a tentative agreement on Saturday, April 4, 2026, after talks that lasted less than a month. The Guild’s negotiating committee approved it unanimously. The previous contract was due to expire on May 1, so the deal arrived with weeks to spare, in sharp contrast with 2023, when a strike lasted nearly 150 days and disrupted production for months. The Guild accepted four years rather than three; according to the Broadcast report, the studios had pushed for five.

The context mattered. The industry had contracted since the 2023 strike, with fewer shows in production and fewer writing jobs. NPR noted that the AMPTP was moving on to talks with the actors’ and directors’ unions. Separately, dozens of staff at the Guild’s West Coast office went on strike in mid-February over alleged unfair labour practices, and the Guild cancelled its Los Angeles awards show in March as a result. Labour relations were therefore not calm even within the union.

The Money

Minimums rise by 10.5 percent in total over the contract, with a larger first-year increase for comedy-variety writers, according to the Broadcast summary. The health contribution rate increases by 3.25 percent starting May 2, and contribution caps go up, a change projected to add $280 million to the health plan over the term. The Guild’s statement said the deal protects the plan and puts it on a sustainable path. WGA West president Michele Mulroney said that in the face of industry contraction and runaway healthcare cost inflation, writers had secured a contract that puts the Health Fund on a sustainable path. The health fund is not a side issue: it is how many working writers get their insurance, and its solvency determines whether a lean year is survivable.

Residuals and Bonuses

The contract raises foreign and domestic residuals and improves the viewership-based streaming bonus created in 2023. Residuals are payments writers receive when their work is reused, and for streaming-era writers they are often the difference between a sustainable career and one that depends on constant new assignments. The detail of the bonus formula is covered in a separate article in this series.

Rewrites and Unpaid Work

One term matters particularly to working screenwriters: a new minimum for page-one rewrites and expanded protections against unpaid work. A page-one rewrite is a complete rewrite of a script, and it can be a large piece of work that was previously priced too low or treated as an extension of an earlier assignment. Unpaid work, such as writing extra drafts or pitching extensively before being hired, has long been a complaint. The NPR report said the deal builds on gains from 2023 and addresses unpaid work. A floor on pay for the biggest rewrites and limits on free labour are practical protections for freelancers who negotiate alone.

Artificial Intelligence

The AI provisions keep the 2023 protections. If studios license writers’ scripts, or productions based on them, to generative AI systems for training, they must give the Guild written notice. The Guild can then request talks on the license and writers’ compensation. That is a notification and bargaining right, not a ban, and it reflects the practical limits of what the Guild could secure. The related question of how AI is treated under the contract is examined in a separate piece in this series.

What Comes Next in the Industry

The writers’ deal sets a template for the other unions. SAG-AFTRA was due to resume negotiations on May 27, and the DGA was expected to begin talks in May. Both of their contracts expire on June 30. The pattern of the 2026 round, early agreements and no strike, suggests that the unions and studios alike wanted stability after a punishing few years.

For individual writers, the sensible steps are to read the summary on the Guild’s website, check the new minimums against any offers, and keep records of unpaid work. Writers who are not members, or who write only on spec, should understand that the minimums set a benchmark even when they do not apply directly: they shape what buyers expect to pay and what agents will accept.

A Reasonable Reading

A 90 percent approval rate is a strong endorsement, although lower turnout than in 2023 suggests less intensity of feeling. The deal does not reverse the contraction in the industry, and it cannot create jobs. What it does is secure pay floors, protect the health plan and extend the AI safeguards for four years. Whether that is enough depends on what happens to the volume of work.

British readers will recognise the interplay of unions, studios and creative work. Our London pages have followed the screenwriters inspired by the capital, how film turns history into story and London’s film production industry. For the wider context, see our guide to British comedy, television and film, and for American coverage Bohiney Magazine.

For some lighter reading, The Daily Mash is a short click away.

SOURCE: bohiney.com