Television and film writers return to work after overwhelmingly approving to call of their 3-month strike against the major Hollywood studios. The membership of the Writers Guild of America is expected to ratify a 3-year contract that guarantees payment when their work is distributed online and through mobile devices, the Los Angeles Times reported. The writers began their walkout Nov. 5 after a new deal could not be negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, based in Sherman Oaks. The strike cost the Los Angeles economy into the hundreds of millions of dollars as television production shut down and film production decreased, leading to thousand of crew members and employees of vendors and suppliers for the productions to become idle. In a statement from the Alliance signed by the executives of the major studios, it was those below the line workers who were hardest hit by the strike. “We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best – writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences,” the statement read. With new contracts in place with both the writers and the Directors Guild of America, the Alliance now shifts focus to negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild whose contract expires in June.
