WGA East Members Ratify New Contract With ABC News
Members at the Writers Guild of America East have “overwhelmingly” ratified a new three-year deal with ABC News.
The guild touted “tremendous financial wins” in the updated agreement, as well as provisions regarding the use of artificial intelligence.
More from Deadline
Elizabeth Nissen Dies: Veteran ABC News Correspondent Dies Was 71
ABC News Sets White House Team To Cover Next Trump Administration
According to the WGA East, ABC News has agreed not to lay off any current staff employees and provide at least three weeks’ notice of intent to implement AI systems for written news. The parties have agreed to meet semi-annually to discuss AI as well.
Other contract details include:
3.5% pay increase per year for three years
Pay increase of over 17% for Desk Assistants in the first year of the contract
Additional 1.5% in contributions to the Health Fund and .5% will be diverted from wages in the second and third years of the agreement for employees who participate in the Funds
Second-year Temporary Employees in the WGA Health Fund are now eligible for paid parental leave, starting in the second year of the contract
Additional Paid Time Off, including for Juneteenth and a reduction in the number of days/hours that temporary employees must work to earn comp days
Introduced fees for Desk Assistants who work as assignment editors, producers, or perform broadcast support functions
The company will provide attribution to news writers who write materials for broadcast that is used on a platform that is not covered by the agreement (such as websites and streaming)
“We are immensely proud of our new contract, which we’ve won as the result of the resilience and solidarity shown by our fellow WGA East members at ABC News. With their overwhelming support, we secured a deal that outlines groundbreaking protections against Generative AI and makes significant improvements to all of our benefits,” the bargaining committee said in a statement on Tuesday.
ABC News is just one of several news outlets whose workers are represented by the WGA East. In its broadcast/cable/streaming news sector, the guild also represents staff at 1010 WINS, ABC News, Audacy (WCBS-AM, WBBM-AM, and KNX-AM), CBS News, CBS News 24/7, Fox 5 WNYW-TV, MSNBC, NBC Promo Writers, Thirteen Productions (Thirteen/WNET) and WBBM / CBS 2 News.
Best of Deadline
How to Watch The 67th Annual Grammy Awards Online And With Cable
2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More
The 2025 Oscars: Everything We Know So Far About The Nominations, Ceremony, Date & Host
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.