The 1960 Writers Guild of America strike was a

labor dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during ...

held by both Writers Guilds of America (

WGAW WGAW (1340 AM) is a radio station licensed to Gardner, Massachusetts. Established in 1946 as WHOB, the station is owned by Steven Wendell and carries a talk radio format. History The station signed on December 23, 1946 as WHOB. It debuted at 14 ...

and

WGAE The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admin ...

), against the

Association of Motion Picture Producers The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with enter ...

. It lasted for 146 days (from January 16 until June 10, 1960, with network writers joining mid-March, although an agreement between the involved parties was signed two days later after the strike), making it the second longest strike ever held by both unions by just one week less than the 1988 writers strike. This dispute was meant to raise concerns about broadcast royalties for films that air on television. For a time, the actors were on strike at the same time, but they had returned to work before the writers reached a compromise with the film companies. Seven of the eight major studios have reached an agreement: * Allied Artists * Columbia *

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Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

The eighth,

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, had reached an agreement before the strike began. The settlement included having the studios pay into the writers' pension and health funds in the amount of $600,000. They also agreed to give 5% of the studio's income from pre-1960 movies that air on television. On post-1960 movies, writers got 2% of income. If the film was shown on pay TV, they would not receive additional income. The minimum rates were also increased to $350 a week and writers would get a 10% raise for the first two years and then 5% for the next year and a half. For television writers, minimum wages increased 100 percent for the first two years and 100 for the next two. Writers for low-budget half-hour shows would get $935 instead of $850. High budget writers would get $1,200 instead of $1,100. Writers would get a 4% royalty domestically and internationally on all reruns "in perpetuity". In the past, writers were paid on only the first five domestic reruns (they got 140% of their minimum pay scale for that). They also agreed to create a health and welfare fund.

See also