The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and United Talent Agency (UTA) have agreed to a new franchise agreement. Therefore, effective immediately, UTA may once again represent WGA members for covered writing services. WGA and UTA have also agreed to withdraw the legal claims each has brought against the other in federal court.
In line with the previous agency agreements the Guild has made, the UTA agreement protects writers in three fundamental areas emphasized since the beginning of the campaign.
- Contract, deal memo and invoice information will be provided to the Guild, allowing the WGA and the agency to partner in systematically addressing late pay and free work.
- Strict limitation on agency ownership of production entities.
- A sunset period that ends the practice of packaging.
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The UTA agreement extends the packaging sunset date to June 30, 2022; until then packaging is only permitted with the informed consent of the writer. The agency can have up to a 20% non-controlling ownership of a production company.
You can read a red-lined version of the franchise agreement here (reflecting changes from the Paradigm agreement).
The Guild states the goal remains to move the negotiation process forward with the remaining unsigned agencies, including WME, CAA and ICM. Click here for the list of all franchised agencies.
SOURCE: WGA
