Sources

• DEADLINE, Dominic Patten:

• WGA 2023 Tentative Agreement Materials

• WGA: Here is an update of the 2-pager (now a 7-pager) that compares the status of negotiations on May 1st and what we achieved on September 24 after 148 days on strike

Dominic Patten, Deadline:

Going into the negotiations, the WGA had asked for 6%-5%-5% pay increases, which is 16.87% compounded over three years.

According to the WGA, the AMPTP’s offer just before the strike was 4%-3%-2%, which is 9.26% compounded over three years. 

AKASH MALIK:

What does this mean, ChatGPT?

CHATGPT 3.5 (Sept 25 version):

The context seems to be related to labor negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), where they are discussing pay increases over a three-year period.

Let's break down the information:

1. **WGA's Initial Request**:

The WGA initially asked for pay increases of 6% for the first year, 5% for the second year, and 5% for the third year. These percentages are compounded over the three-year period. To calculate the compounded increase, you can use the formula:

Compounded Increase = (1 + Rate1) * (1 + Rate2) * (1 + Rate3) - 1

In this case:

- Rate1 = 6% or 0.06

- Rate2 = 5% or 0.05

- Rate3 = 5% or 0.05

Compounded Increase = (1 + 0.06) * (1 + 0.05) * (1 + 0.05) - 1

Compounded Increase ≈ 16.87%

So, the WGA's initial request would result in a compounded pay increase of approximately 16.87% over three years.

2. **AMPTP's Offer**:

According to the WGA, the AMPTP's offer just before the strike began was for pay increases of 4% for the first year, 3% for the second year, and 2% for the third year, also compounded over the three-year period. Using the same formula:

- Rate1 = 4% or 0.04

- Rate2 = 3% or 0.03

- Rate3 = 2% or 0.02

Compounded Increase = (1 + 0.04) * (1 + 0.03) * (1 + 0.02) - 1

Compounded Increase ≈ 9.26%

So, the AMPTP's offer would result in a compounded pay increase of approximately 9.26% over three years.

In summary, the WGA initially asked for a pay increase that would result in a compounded total of about 16.87% over three years.

However, the AMPTP's offer was lower, with a compounded total of approximately 9.26% over the same three-year period.

This difference in pay increase percentages was likely a point of contention in their negotiations and may have contributed to a strike taking place.

AKASH MALIK:

And they ended on 5%-4%-3.5%, break that down.

CHATGPT:

Certainly, let's break down the pay increase percentages of the final agreement between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which were 5% for the first year, 4% for the second year, and 3.5% for the third year, all compounded over a three-year period.

1. **Year 1**: A 5% pay increase for the first year means that the salary for that year will be 105% of the previous year's salary (100% + 5%). This can be represented as a decimal as 1.05.

2. **Year 2**: A 4% pay increase for the second year means that the salary for that year will be 104% of the previous year's salary (100% + 4%). This can be represented as a decimal as 1.04.

3. **Year 3**: A 3.5% pay increase for the third year means that the salary for that year will be 103.5% of the previous year's salary (100% + 3.5%). This can be represented as a decimal as 1.035.

Now, to calculate the compounded increase over the three-year period, you can multiply these factors:

Compounded Increase = (1.05) * (1.04) * (1.035) - 1

Compounded Increase ≈ 1.05 * 1.04 * 1.035 - 1 ≈ 1.14102 - 1 ≈ 0.14102

So, the compounded pay increase over the three-year period with these percentages is approximately 14.10%.

In the final agreement, the compounded pay increase over three years would be approximately 14.10%, which means that a writer's salary would increase by about 14.10% from the starting point over the course of those three years

(September 25, 2023-May 1, 2026)

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