WGA Ratifies 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement with AMPTP
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK (April 24, 2026)—The members of Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) have ratified a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
WGA members have ratified the 2026 MBA with 90.38% (4,282) voting in favor, and 9.62% (456) voting no. The term of the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) is from May 2, 2026 through May 1, 2030.
“In the face of industry contraction and runaway healthcare cost inflation, writers were able to secure a contract that returns our Health Fund to a sustainable path and builds on gains from the 2023 strike,” said WGAW President Michele Mulroney. “We could not have achieved that without a thoughtful negotiating committee led by co-chairs Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and John August, the WGAW Board and WGAE Council, and our professional WGA staff. We thank all writers who supported us during the process.”
Gains made in the contract include: an increase of 3.25% in the health contribution rate on May 2, 2026 and long-overdue increases to health contribution caps, worth a projected $280 million in new funding to the health plan over the term of the agreement; minimum increases totaling 10.5% over the term of the contract, with a higher increase for Comedy-Variety writers in Year 1; increased foreign and domestic HBSVOD residuals and improvements to the viewership-based streaming bonus first established in 2023; a new minimum for “page-one” rewrites; expanded protections against free work; and more.
“Now, our Guilds will turn to the core work of enforcing the MBA and ensuring writers are paid properly for our work, as we monitor the industry trends around streaming and AI,” said WGAE President Tom Fontana. “It’s our constant engagement and vigilance between negotiations that make our unions strong.”
To read more about the gains for writers in the new WGA agreement, read the MOA summary.
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, podcasts and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit www.wga.org.
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