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Canadian script and story coordinators have reached a first-time agreement to be represented by IATSE and the Writers Guild of Canada.

The national agreement will see IATSE have jurisdiction over administrative work and the WGC will represent creative work by aspiring screenwriters in mostly entry-level jobs where they do copy editing and script polishing, among other duties.

The first-time representation also comes amid the Writers Guild of America strike stateside where studios looking for minimum staffing for writer rooms, or so-called “mini-rooms,” and the use of artificial intelligence tools have become key sticking points in stalled negotiations.

IATSE and the WGC argue north of the border the trend towards smaller writing rooms or mini-rooms has resulted in script or story coordinators handling more tasks than in the past.

“Whether entry-level or otherwise, all work has value. And the people performing that work deserve to have a voice. The IATSE is pleased to welcome these workers, and we are looking forward to a collaborative relationship with the WGC. Our voice is strongest when we speak together,” IATSE director of Canadian affairs John Lewis said in a statement on Monday.

The Canadian guild and union also contend the role of script coordinators in recent years has increasingly been filled by workers from underrepresented communities, including writers who are black, indigenous and People of Color.

The labor reducing potential of AI tools taking over writing has been cited by the WGA stateside in their negotiations with the major studios and streamers, where they want regulation and assurances that AI  could not be used to write or rewrite literary material, or be used as source material. The U.S. talks on a new Hollywood writers deal are also hung up over the proliferation of mini rooms that feature a handful of writers breaking stories before a formal series order, which is not always a guarantee. 

The dual Hollywood strikes have had a ripple effect in Canada where an American production shutdown has left many of the country’s soundstages dark or filled with homegrown film and TV shoots dependent on scripts by WGC members.

The Canadian writers guild has also argued that the current boom in Hollywood TV production in Canada stalled by the U.S. strikes is creatively driven from Los Angeles and benefits local Canadian crews and acting talent hired for production shoots, but not WGC screenwriters.