Hollywood writers begin strike for 1st time in 15 years

Television and movie writers with the Writers Guild of America began their strike on Tuesday for the first time in 15 years, bringing Hollywood production to a halt, reported Xinhua.

The Writers Guild of America said in a statement Monday night that the labor union's negotiation with Hollywood studios and streamers had failed to reach an agreement after spending the last six weeks negotiating with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The labor union represents thousands of creators who write scripted series, features, news programs, and other content.

The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West and Council of the Writers Guild of America East had voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

"We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labor. All WGA (Writers Guild of America) members are obligated to follow the strike rules," said the statement.

"Writers are the backbone of this industry. Nothing gets made without us," noted the Writers Guild of America West in a tweet Tuesday morning.

Thousands of members of the Writers Guild of America are set to walk picket lines across Los Angeles, New York and other U.S. cities on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it presented an offer with generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals. The trade association responsible for negotiating virtually all industry-wide guild and union contracts noted that it was willing to engage in discussions with the Writers Guild of America in an effort to break the logjam.