2026 Writers Guild Staff Union Strike

2026 Writers Guild Staff Union Strike
The official logo of the Writers Guild Staff Union
Date12:00, February 17, 2026 (−08:00) (2026-02-17T12:00:00−08:00)
; 34 days
Location
Guild Headquarters
7000 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Writers Guild Theater
135 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Caused by
  • Lack of a first collective bargaining agreement between the WGSU and the WGAW
Methods
StatusOngoing
Parties

Pacific Northwest Staff Union (PNWSU)

  • Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU)
Lead figures

PNWSU At-Large President
Brandon Tippy
WGSU Bargaining Committee Co-Chairs
Dylan Holmes
Missy Brown

WGAW Executive Director
Ellen Stutzman
WGAW General Council
Sean Graham

On Tuesday, February 17, 2026, the Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU), went on strike against their employer, the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), itself a labor union representing screenwriters in their western jurisdiction of the United States.[1]

The WGSU alleges unfair labor practices, including retaliatory termination, bad faith surface bargaining, and surveillance of union activity. While the staff of the WGSU are not writers, many writers who they represent have attended their picket line in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. The Writers Guild Staff Union is a local chapter of the Pacific Northwest Staff Union (PNWSU), which is an industrial union focusing on organizing the staff who work at labor unions.[2][3]

This unprecedented labor action has led to substantial media coverage, and places the WGAW in the position of having to bargain the first WGSU collective bargaining agreement while quickly approaching renegotiations for the 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which are scheduled to begin on March 16. The strike has led to condemnation of the WGAW management by the Guild's membership, and the cancellation of the 2026 Writers Guild of America Awards.[1][3]

Background

The Writers Guild of America West is one of two Writers Guild of America locals that represent screenwriters who work in the American film industry.[4] Operating with the jurisdiction west of the Mississippi River and centered on the production hubs in and around Hollywood in the city of Los Angeles, the WGAW is far larger than its eastern counterpart, the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). It has around 17,000 total members as of 2025.[5]

WGSU organizing effort

For nearly five months in 2023, staff members of the WGAW worked once again to support screenwriters during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. They provided logistics, supplies, and organizational structure to ensure that striking writers were well-supplied on the picket lines in and around the city of Los Angeles, and to ensure that they continued to receive their residuals checks. [6][7]

CBA negotiations

In the following months, the WGSU performed bargaining surveys with their membership, and collected candidates for their Bargaining Committee (BC). They held their first bargaining session with Management on September 9, 2025, in the boardroom of the Guild Headquarters.[8]

The WGSU has accused the WGAW of ignoring the vast majority of their proposals. Since then and over the course of five months, the WGSU has alleged that the WGAW has engaged in multiple counts of surface bargaining, and has filed unfair labor practice charges to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the WGAW has several times "refused to bargain".[9]

The WGAW has denied this, saying that they have delivered multiple comprehensive proposals to the staff union which provide for an increase in benefits, protections, and wages.

Strike action

In January 2026, the WGSU Bargaining Committee recommended to their membership that they vote to authorize a strike. On January 29, the WGSU announced that 100 of their members participated in the strike authorization vote, with an approval of 82%. They held further bargaining sessions with management, but the results of these talks remained unfruitful, and the elected leadership of the union decided to call for a walkout at noon on February 17. Their strike is based upon their allegations of Unfair Labor Practices.[10]

The WGSU erected an inflatable Scabby the Rat on the intersection of Third & Fairfax to protest the WGAW's use of strikebreaking labor, their bad faith bargaining, and their unfair labor practices. Industry trade magazines and newspapers took note of Scabby's presence outside of the Guild Headquarters, commenting on the irony that such a symbol was being weaponized against a labor union. Articles frequently featured photos of Scabby underneath the Writers Guild of America West facade.[11]

The strike drew intense reactions from politicians as well as the film and labor industries. Writers, often wearing their trademark blue strike shirts, joined the picket line in support of the staff, and the picketers were further joined by community allies.[12]

The WGSU requested that the WGAW management team bargain again amid the strike. The WGAW requested that the staff union source a "neutral location", and the two parties met at the union hall for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 56 in San Pedro on February 22. The two sides were unable to come to terms, and the WGSU announced that the WGAW management team was still invested in surface bargaining. On the following Tuesday, February 24, WGAW management informed the staff union that they were holding to their previous proposal in San Pedro they would not be negotiating further. The WGSU quickly took to Instagram to inform the public and the media that the 78th Writers Guild of America Awards was under threat of cancellation.[13][14]

2026 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Show is Cancelled [sic]
WGAW would not ask attendees to cross a picket line, as PNSWU [sic] strike continues.

awards.wga.org[15]

The WGSU refused to entertain the San Pedro offer. The deadline passed, and WGAW management announced the awards show's cancellation via their press room. They acknowledged that the WGSU would likely picket the event, and that they did not want to ask the nominees or other attendees to cross a picket line.[16] WGSU members gave statements to the press, expressing sadness over the show's cancellation. [17] Writers responded to the announced cancellation with frustration, citing it as an example of the losses incurred by Management's refusal to bargain in good faith.[18]

After the awards show cancellation, Atsuko Okatsuka, the comedian who had been chosen to host the 78th annual awards, announced on March 6 that she would be headlining a Benefit Comedy Show for the striking workers instead. In a quote to The Hollywood Reporter, Okatsuka said, "I'm a union girl... We're only as strong as the people behind the scenes!! We're one unit, so we must move as such. I was supposed to host the awards this Saturday. A day of celebrating the hard work of artists in one of the strongest unions in the U.S.. But could we really celebrate while the staff, who help support the union are asking to be heard of their needs? I'm honored to stand with them."[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kilkenny, Katie (February 17, 2026). "Writers Guild West's Own Staff Calls a Strike Against the Union". The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  2. ^ Maddaus, Gene (February 17, 2026). "WGA Staff Go on Strike Weeks Ahead of AMPTP Negotiations". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Campione, Katie (February 25, 2026). ""This Sucks": WGA West's Internal Battle Continues As Writers Join Staff Union's Picket Line". Deadline.
  4. ^ "Writers Guild of America West" (PDF). wga.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  5. ^ US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. File number 000-078. (Search)
  6. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (April 30, 2025). "Writers Guild West Staff Union Voluntarily Recognized". The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, LLC.
  7. ^ Campione, Katie (April 30, 2025). "Writers Guild Of America West Staff Union Wins Voluntarily Recognition, Moves To Negotiate First Contract". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  8. ^ Writers Guild Staff Union [@wgsunion]; (September 10, 2025). "We've got a contract to win. #ItsTime". Retrieved March 8, 2026 – via Instagram.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Davies, Cerys (February 18, 2026). "Weeks before studio negotiations, the Writers Guild of America's staff union goes on strike". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  10. ^ Campione, Katie (January 30, 2026). "WGA West Staff Authorizes Strike, Accusing Guild Leadership Of Bad Faith Bargaining Ahead Of Negotiations With AMPTP". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  11. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (February 20, 2026). "Behind the Writers Guild's Internal Revolt". The Hollywood Reporter. 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  12. ^ Campione, Katie (February 25, 2026). ""This Sucks": WGA West's Internal Battle Continues As Writers Join Staff Union's Picket Line". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  13. ^ Maddaus, Gene (February 24, 2026). "WGA Staff Strike Enters Second Week as Writers Guild Awards Could Be Nixed". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  14. ^ Writers Guild Staff Union [@wgsunion]; (February 24, 2026). "We will see you on the line at 3rd & Fairfax tomorrow morning". Retrieved March 8, 2026 – via Instagram.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Writers Guild Awards". Writers Guild Awards. Writers Guild of America Foundation. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  16. ^ Writers Guild of America West. "Writers Guild of America West Cancels Los Angeles Awards Show". www.wga.org. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  17. ^ Perman, Stacy (March 1, 2026). "WGA cancels Los Angeles awards show amid labor strike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  18. ^ Campione, Katie (March 6, 2026). "L.A. Writers Join Staff Picket Line After Canceled WGA Awards Ceremony". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  19. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (March 6, 2026). "Would-Be Writers Guild West Awards Host Atsuko Okatsuka Set to Headline Fundraiser for Striking Staff". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
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