The negotiating committee, representing the East and West Coast branches of the union, revealed in a statement that the strike would go into effect today and that members would picket starting in the afternoon in both Los Angeles and New York.

“Although we negotiated with the intention of making a fair deal, and although we were given a head start on making some gains, the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the crisis facing writers,” WGA said in a statement reproduced by the Common Dreams site.

The issues under discussion include pay scales and employment guarantees for writers working in the age of online streaming and new distribution models created by giants such as Disney, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, NBC Universal, Paramount, Sony and Discover-Warner.

The average weekly salary for writers and producers declined 23 percent over the past decade as they adjusted for inflation, according to a WGA survey cited by the Los Angeles Times.

When factoring in price increases, screenwriters’ income declined 14 percent over the past five years, according to the report.

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