2026 Writers Guild Staff Union Strike

2026 Writers Guild Staff Union Strike
The official logo of the Writers Guild Staff Union
Date12:00, February 17, 2026 (−08:00) (2026-02-17T12:00:00−08:00)
; 29 days
Location
Guild Headquarters
7000 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Writers Guild Theater
135 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Caused by
  • Lack of a first collective bargaining agreement between the WGSU and the WGAW
Methods
StatusOngoing
Parties

Pacific Northwest Staff Union (PNWSU)

  • Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU)
Lead figures

PNWSU At-Large President
Brandon Tippy
WGSU Bargaining Committee Co-Chairs
Dylan Holmes
Missy Brown

WGAW Executive Director
Ellen Stutzman
WGAW General Council
Sean Graham

On Tuesday, February 17, 2026, the Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU), went on strike against their employer, the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), itself a labor union representing screenwriters in their western jurisdiction of the United States.

The WGSU alleges unfair labor practices, including retaliatory termination, bad faith surface bargaining, and surveillance of union activity. While the staff of the WGSU are not writers, many writers who they represent have attended their picket line in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. The Writers Guild Staff Union is a local chapter of the Pacific Northwest Staff Union (PNWSU), which is an industrial union focusing on organizing the staff who work at labor unions.

This unprecedented labor action has led to substantial media coverage, and places the WGAW in the position of having to bargain the first WGSU collective bargaining agreement while quickly approaching renegotiations for the 2026 Minimum Basic Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which are scheduled to begin on March 16. The strike has led to condemnation of the WGAW management by the Guild's membership, and the cancellation of the 2026 Writers Guild of America Awards.