An atmosphere similar to a "rock concert" pervaded the Writers Guild deal meeting.

On the union's first day following its historic 148-day strike, the Writers Guild of America held a "rock concert" at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night to celebrate its leadership and unity while outlining the deal points in its draft Minimum Basic Agreement to its members.

A video showcasing images and interviews from the picket lines and numerous demonstrations staged over the course of the previous 148 days of the work stoppage was shown after a minute-long standing ovation for the negotiating committee.

Meredith Stiehm, president of WGA West, began the meeting by making the "official" declaration that the guild has struck a tentative new three-year Minimum Basic Agreement following what was the second-longest strike in the history of the union. As she acknowledged each and every member of the WGA's leadership, board, negotiating committee, as well as recently elected officers, her statements were greeted by successive standing ovations. The chief negotiator for the guild who replaced David Young after he went on medical leave in February, Ellen Stutzman, received the loudest applause of the evening from the roughly 1,000 guild members who filled the Palladium to its rafters.

Stutzman showed off by pointing out that the meeting, which turned out to be the final round of discussions last week, was held in the WGA Boardroom rather than at the AMPTP's Sherman Oaks headquarters when studio heavyweights Bob Iger, David Zaslav, Donna Langley, and Ted Sarandos joined.

"Ellen is just outstanding. in comparison to how she was in April. One observer commented, "You truly get the sense that this has made her into a true and very outstanding leader.

Chris Keyser, co-chair of the WGA's bargaining committee, told members on Wednesday that the writers guild "is kind of a miracle," praising the rank-and-file's unity and reiterating that the AMPTP, not the guild, "chose" this strike.

"Once the four CEOs finally took control, the deal was done in essentially three days," he added, citing the $5 billion in losses to the California economy as evidence of how useless the organization that represents Hollywood's studios and streamers is. "There is still work to be done. We must enforce it... We must inform writers and showrunners of the regulations and remind members to contact the guild if they are under pressure to waive their rights. agents to do their part, too. 'That's the deal, just take it' is no longer acceptable. Even after the picket signs have been removed, we still need to watch out for one another.

Keyser, who is well-known for inspiring the union with his speeches, also thanked Drew Carey and everyone else who supported the WGA during the strike. After paying for guild members during the WGA strike at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank and Swingers on the west side of Los Angeles, Carey has earned a reputation as a guild favorite. For the first two months of the strike, he spent $250,000 at Bob's. The gathering members gave a standing ovation to "Fake Carol" Lombardini, the social media account that mocks the president of the AMPTP, as well as Carey, who was not present. (The person behind the popular account is still unknown.)

The MBA contract elements were then discussed by Stutzman, including what the WGA began with in May and what the union ultimately agreed to nearly five months later. The agreement was positively welcomed, according to another showrunner present at the press-only gathering.

The deal was unanimously recommended by the WGA West board, WGA East council, and the negotiating committee on Tuesday. The WGA membership will now vote to approve the proposed agreement. Voting will occur from October 2 to 9.

Another person present at the meeting predicted that the contract would be approved. "And by a wide margin, too."

David Goodman, co-chair of the negotiating committee, praised the guild's lot coordinators and strike captains as well as the members who routinely walked the picket lines before asking questions. "What about all those tales about how some powerful agent convinced us to return, or how one specific person convinced us to return to the negotiating table? No, everyone in this room did it," Goodman said, according to one observer.

Following a Q&A session, members asked how they could help SAG-AFTRA, which is currently 60 or so days into its own strike against the AMPTP and is now expected to start discussions next week. Leaders of the guild urged members to attend SAG-AFTRA and mentioned that there would be other chances to support the other unions, such as the United Auto Workers.