For the first time since 2005, the screen writers for the majority of the films produced in Hollywood are going on strike. 

The Writer’s Guild of America, which is comprised of over 11 thousand writers, meets every three years to reevaluate their terms and contracts. Upon their recent meeting, many negations were brought up regarding new contracts with the studios. 

As the film industry has expanded rapidly, their revenue has also increased. However, the writers feel that they have not been compensated for this increase and that their wages are not adequate. They claim that this current system is in a sense “broken”.

At the W.G.A. meeting, it was reported that the film studios did not make an extreme attempt to correct for the writers’ concerns, so the strike will continue until further notice. 

However, this should not affect any upcoming movie productions, as the process for producing a movie typically takes over a year anyways and most movies scheduled for this year have already been shot, according to the New York Times. 

As for collateral damage, the strike could affect the smaller businesses that work more behind the scenes for film productions, such as dry cleaners and drivers. In the last major writers’ strike, the Los Angeles economy took on a $2.1 billion hit. 

In the meantime, the studios say that now is not the most efficient time to make a change in the pay for writers, and the writers say that their careers are being sacrificed as a result.