We've been hearing a lot of procedural questions in the last few days, so in an act of serious selflessness, we decided to do a little paging through the WGA Constitution so you don't have to.
Here are the questions we've been hearing most:
Can the Board lift the restraining order (meaning the strike) without a general vote of the membership?
Yes. In Article IX, Section 3b, it states that the restraining order has to be authorized by the membership to start, but that it remains "in effect until withdrawn by the Board."
The Board has the constitutional right to lift the restraining order at their discretion.
That doesn't mean they will, by the way, and no one should interpret this information to mean that the Saturday meeting will automatically result in the strike being lifted if the Board meets, as they are rumored to be doing, on Sunday.
How long does it take to have a ratification vote?
The Constitution provides for three timelines in Article VII, Section 2b:
20 days' notice to members, 10 days' notice, or 48 hours.
The 48 hour option is reserved for meetings dealing with restraining orders [i.e. strikes] or the "membership being called to discuss and take action on related matters." Like, for example, the ratification of a contract that directly impacts the restraining order.
Does that mean that the 48 hours will start at the Saturday meeting, and we'll have to cast a vote by Monday?
No. Because of the notification requirements in the Constitution (same section) the 48 hours couldn't begin before Monday at the earliest. (Or that's how we read it.)
Could the Board lift the strike order sooner, and we could still have a 10-day or 20-day ratification vote?
That is possible under the Constitution. But again, the Board has repeatedly guaranteed that nothing will happen without the input (and approval) of the membership. They are planning to get that input at the Saturday meeting.
When will we have the deal points to see for ourselves?
The current rumor is that the companies have promised to finish the contract draft language on the deal points by Friday, so that the deal summary can be released to membership.
If the companies don't do that, then obviously we won't be able to evaluate the deal points before the Saturday meeting -- remember, any deal points not yet put in contract language are not final. They could be changed, to our disadvantage, in contract if we don't get them nailed down now.
We at UH hope that the companies will live up to what they've promised, so the membership can see the deal points and evaluate them for ourselves in a timely manner.
What does this mean in relation to the Saturday meeting?
Well, it's not a Constitutional question, but here's the answer: EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE THERE.
We're going to be briefed on the negotiation as it stands. Hopefully, the contract language will be finished, which means there will be some finality to the deal points that are presented to us. We'll get to hear what's going on -- and we'll have the right to decide what happens next.
We all want to get answers, so we can make the best decision possible on whatever deal terms are put forward to us. And the Saturday meeting is the place to get those answers.
The Board will be there, and they'll listen to what we say, because that's their job. The only way our voices might not be heard -- is if we don't show up.
Showing posts with label Correcting the Record. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Correcting the Record. Show all posts
1/29/2008
Letter to SAG Members -- Weaknesses in the DGA Deal
This letter was just sent out to SAG members by Doug Allen (Executive Director and Chief Negotiator) and Allen Rosenberg (President). Emphases in red are from us at UH -- LK.
Everyone hopes the WGA strike will end with a fair deal for the writers. There has been much speculation about the impact on the WGA strike of the tentative agreement between the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the employers' representative, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Some have rushed to anoint their deal as the “solution” for the entertainment industry. We believe that assessment is premature.
All we know of the deal are the general terms described in a joint AMPTP/DGA press release. That press release leaves many important questions unanswered. Apparently, many elements of this deal remain unresolved and/or have not been reduced to writing.
The DGA press release suggests progress in some areas, but until the details are known, that is only speculation. Several examples: The formula for new media “electronic sell through (paid downloads or EST)” is based on the higher distributor’s gross revenues, rather than producer’s gross revenues, but the definition of distributor’s gross is vague and not sufficient to protect against manipulation by the employers. Also, information regarding employer “deals and data” will be available to the DGA to monitor distributor’s gross and paid downloads on the Internet, but the press release does not detail what data, who provides the data, and what happens if the data is not provided. The devil is in the details. In the tri-guild audits under the current guilds’ collective bargaining agreements (including the DGA’s), for example, some audits are still open after eight years, because of problems with enforcement under current contract language.
Some have suggested that the new DGA deal contains a “fair market value” test for revenues included in the new media residuals calculation, to protect against self-dealing when one part of a conglomerate sells new media content to another part of the conglomerate at an unfair, low price in order to reduce residuals. We hope this is true, but the press release does not use “arms-length transaction” or “fair market value test” language, and says only, “If our exhibitor or retailer is part of the producer’s corporate family, (DGA has) improved provisions for challenging any suspect transactions.” This language could mean anything, and certainly does not guarantee against self-dealing by media conglomerates to hurt creative talent.
Fair market value and distributor’s gross are two issues that the AMPTP demanded that the WGA take off the table, along with four other items, which resulted in talks breaking off in December. Now after prolonging the strike for another month, the AMPTP has negotiated these two issues with the DGA.
That is the good news. There are also even more serious problems with other provisions described in the DGA press release, particularly those involving new media. For example, why are residuals for electronic sell-through (paid downloads or EST) for directors based on their lower DVD formula (.3%) rather than the higher pay TV formula (1.2%) in their current agreement? All three guilds – SAG, WGA, and DGA – filed for arbitration to overturn management’s attempt to impose the DVD formula for residuals on the calculation of residuals for downloads under the current agreement. The DGA stated in their arbitration filings that payment of the lower amount is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and the proper residual formula is the higher pay TV percentage. The concession by the DGA in the new deal, to use the formula that management improperly imposed under the current agreement, is an AMPTP roll-back. The new agreed-upon percentages for television (.7%) or feature films (.65%) are much lower in the DGA deal than the percentage that the DGA claims is appropriate in its arbitration (1.2%). And these “increases”, which are based on the discredited DVD formula, do not increase residuals on the sale of DVD’s, but only apply to downloads; despite the fact that DVD’s will generate billions in revenue to the studios and networks for years to come.
The very high thresholds in the DGA deal for full jurisdiction for made for new media content may well incentivize non-union work below the threshold amounts ($15, 000/minute, $300,000/program, $500,000/series, whichever is lower). What will stop the industry from making cheap, non-union pilots at below $300,000 per episode, for testing first on the Internet before the productions migrate to broadcast or basic cable?
Your Guild has signed 210 Internet producers to SAG contracts in the past two years and only seven of them (or 3%) would fall inside the high DGA jurisdictional thresholds. We have worked hard, just as we do with low budget features, to capture this Internet work and to make sure it is done union. This DGA proposal appears to abandon jurisdiction over a huge swath of actual Internet productions, which we currently cover.
This deal gingerly addresses certain issues now, with the apparent hope that in three years or more, revenues will grow and the agreement can be improved to capture more of it. Bargaining history in the entertainment industry, however, teaches that it is much harder to get a fair share of revenue after management puts it in their pockets for years. Residual compensation should be based on a fair share of revenue generated by covered content from the first dollar. Rather than a “percentage of revenue, payment from first dollar” approach to residuals, the DGA deal instead provides for a 17 day window for free streaming of television programs over the Internet without compensation (24 days for the program’s first season). The deal also allows a one year buy-out of $1200 for Internet use v. $20,000 for one re-run on broadcast television.
For these specific reasons, and because so much of the new DGA/AMPTP deal is unknown, no one should assume this new deal is a template for anyone else, certainly not for actors. It is up to the leadership and membership of the DGA to decide if their new deal with the studios and networks is acceptable, but whatever they decide, their decision will not determine what will be satisfactory for the leadership and membership of Screen Actors Guild. Each guild must act in the best interest of its own membership, including rejecting management-imposed “pattern bargaining.”
In solidarity,
Alan Rosenberg, President
Doug Allen, Executive Director and Chief Negotiator
Rumor Mill on Overdrive
Yes, we are hearing the same rumors you're hearing. Repeat: rumors. And last time we all got too excited by such unsubstantiated expectations, well, you know.
So as you get your third email and/or phone call from the guy who knows somebody who talked to the woman who heard from a person "who knows people who know," take a deep breath and read Ray Richmond's column yesterday on The Huffington Post. An excerpt:
With the settlement rumors again flying fast, we are left to question the precise source of said scuttlebutt. Here is one undeniably pessimistic and hardcore but I believe at least semi-plausible theory:
The studios make a deal with the Directors Guild, whose residual guarantees don't come close to matching what the WGA is seeking. A producer rep circulates around the idea that things are looking up and informal talks have commenced. There is a resumption of in-person bargaining, followed quickly by an abrupt break-off and the usual angry recriminations along the lines of "So it seems those arrogant bastard writers think they're worth more than the directors!" and "We held out an olive branch and they ripped it to shreds!". The producers still have done nothing to move the talks forward -- or in truth even start them -- yet can seize the moral high ground. The WGA side will have been lured into a trap. The premise postulates that the studios have zero interest in ever coming to a reasoned agreement but are instead moving resolutely forward on a campaign of solidarity splintering and ultimate guild destruction.
Mind you, this conspiratorial scenario could be 100% (OK, 98%) off-base. An accord might conceivably come today and I'd be exposed as an alarmist whack job -- a development which I would applaud enthusiastically, if slightly sheepishly. We have, after all, seen an increasing trickle of independent production companies breaking ranks and signing their own pacts with the WGA, a list that now includes a couple of heavyweights like Lionsgate, Marvel and the Weinstein Co. Still, there remains unbending unity among the only guys who count: Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, et al.
But let's end here on a buoyant note, shall we? It's a gorgeous January day. The town is buzzing. The writers are picketing. The air is pregnant with possibility. And if you listen really hard, you can make out the glorious sound of thawing ice. On the other hand, that could also just be the moguls rubbing their hands together.
Is the above the worst case and an admittedly "pessimistic" scenario? You bet. Just as all the rumors flying fast and furious the last 24 hours are of the rose-colored glasses variety. So stay calm and wait until we have facts instead of getting too high or low based on a text message based on an anonymous blog post based on a tip from "a guy who knows a guy who talked to a guy."
So as you get your third email and/or phone call from the guy who knows somebody who talked to the woman who heard from a person "who knows people who know," take a deep breath and read Ray Richmond's column yesterday on The Huffington Post. An excerpt:
With the settlement rumors again flying fast, we are left to question the precise source of said scuttlebutt. Here is one undeniably pessimistic and hardcore but I believe at least semi-plausible theory:
The studios make a deal with the Directors Guild, whose residual guarantees don't come close to matching what the WGA is seeking. A producer rep circulates around the idea that things are looking up and informal talks have commenced. There is a resumption of in-person bargaining, followed quickly by an abrupt break-off and the usual angry recriminations along the lines of "So it seems those arrogant bastard writers think they're worth more than the directors!" and "We held out an olive branch and they ripped it to shreds!". The producers still have done nothing to move the talks forward -- or in truth even start them -- yet can seize the moral high ground. The WGA side will have been lured into a trap. The premise postulates that the studios have zero interest in ever coming to a reasoned agreement but are instead moving resolutely forward on a campaign of solidarity splintering and ultimate guild destruction.
Mind you, this conspiratorial scenario could be 100% (OK, 98%) off-base. An accord might conceivably come today and I'd be exposed as an alarmist whack job -- a development which I would applaud enthusiastically, if slightly sheepishly. We have, after all, seen an increasing trickle of independent production companies breaking ranks and signing their own pacts with the WGA, a list that now includes a couple of heavyweights like Lionsgate, Marvel and the Weinstein Co. Still, there remains unbending unity among the only guys who count: Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, et al.
But let's end here on a buoyant note, shall we? It's a gorgeous January day. The town is buzzing. The writers are picketing. The air is pregnant with possibility. And if you listen really hard, you can make out the glorious sound of thawing ice. On the other hand, that could also just be the moguls rubbing their hands together.
Is the above the worst case and an admittedly "pessimistic" scenario? You bet. Just as all the rumors flying fast and furious the last 24 hours are of the rose-colored glasses variety. So stay calm and wait until we have facts instead of getting too high or low based on a text message based on an anonymous blog post based on a tip from "a guy who knows a guy who talked to a guy."
1/16/2008
DGA/WGA Member Busts Myths
UPDATE 1/17/08: The "Simpsons" movie was not WGA covered. References to it being covered have been removed.
Melissa Jo Peltier, DGA and WGA Member, recently posted on a DGA board the following myths and truths about the WGA negotiations with the CEOs. She permitted us to excerpt it here. To see her entire post go here.
Myth #1) "The only sticking points with the WGA are reality and animation."
Truth is, there were four other sticking points on the table besides reality and animation - and two of them were issues the AMPTP cares MUCH more about than reality and animation. These issues are:
1) The fact that the WGA would NOT agree to abstain totally from work stoppage in solidarity with other striking unions (like the DGA or SAG or IATSE)...
...and 2) The fact that the AMPTP wanted us to take "distributor's gross" out of the formula for internet residuals, and accept "producer's gross" instead.
Anyone who has ever had a piece of a successful film or TV project and had to fight for their fair share in the courts knows that when studios are forced to open their books, "producer's gross" turns out to be translated in studio speak as "Whatever I SAY we made" - (and usually, what they say they "lost") on the film.
Myth #2). "Studios will never accept animation writers as part of the WGA"...and/or "Animation writers are already covered under IATSE and don't want to be WGA."
FYI, here's some TRUE history: about ten years ago, THE SIMPSONS television show writers fought tooth and nail and finally DID win the right to be represented by the WGA. (No one could argue convincingly that THE SIMPSONS wasn't "written", although FOX surely tried to!). So the argument that the studios will "never" accept animation writers in the guild is proven fallacious right there.
Feature animation has been highly scripted ever since the day that Mike Eisner famously said, "I don't get storyboards." Thereafter, most feature animation has been developed in the same way that live action features have. Without WGA protection, writers of 120-page dramatic scripts who create concepts, characters, backstories, dialogue, etc. can be asked to deliver draft after draft, and have no share in back end that runs to the hundreds of millions and often includes more mega million dollar merchandising such as toys, games, clothing etc. Remember, these are the same films that are paying superstars like Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, and Owen Wilson their going rates (per their SAG contracts) to do voiceovers.
Myth #3) "Reality writers don't even want to be in the guild."
Here's a news flash - REALITY WRITERS DESPERATELY WANT TO BE IN THE GUILD. DESPERATELY
This one really gets me because I am a writer IN the guild and most of my work is in reality. I also co-own a reality production company that is a signatory to both guilds. We were one of the first in cable reality to do so, I'm proud to say, and over the past decade we have helped convince other small production companies to do the same.
Because our budgets are so small (a one hour non fiction cable show can be around the same as the craft service budget for one episode of a scripted drama series), and because the cable networks rerun our shows ad nauseum, we use a limited buyout deal on the Hitchcock formula that we negotiated with the WGA. Our writers get their P&W covered, and they are protected by WGA laws including arbitration in case company owners like myself and my partners unscrupulously decide to take the writer credit for themselves. In fact, our writers have earned several WGA awards nominations for reality/non-fiction/documentary writing that would not have been possible had we not been guild signatories. We also get the best writers in non-fiction this way. BECAUSE THE BEST WRITERS ARE GUILD AND THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH GUILD PROTECTION.
What writer in her/his right mind wouldn't want that kind of MINIMAL protection?
I have yet to speak to a fellow reality/non-fiction writer who doesn't want to be in the guild.
Melissa Jo Peltier, DGA and WGA Member, recently posted on a DGA board the following myths and truths about the WGA negotiations with the CEOs. She permitted us to excerpt it here. To see her entire post go here.
Myth #1) "The only sticking points with the WGA are reality and animation."
Truth is, there were four other sticking points on the table besides reality and animation - and two of them were issues the AMPTP cares MUCH more about than reality and animation. These issues are:
1) The fact that the WGA would NOT agree to abstain totally from work stoppage in solidarity with other striking unions (like the DGA or SAG or IATSE)...
...and 2) The fact that the AMPTP wanted us to take "distributor's gross" out of the formula for internet residuals, and accept "producer's gross" instead.
Anyone who has ever had a piece of a successful film or TV project and had to fight for their fair share in the courts knows that when studios are forced to open their books, "producer's gross" turns out to be translated in studio speak as "Whatever I SAY we made" - (and usually, what they say they "lost") on the film.
Myth #2). "Studios will never accept animation writers as part of the WGA"...and/or "Animation writers are already covered under IATSE and don't want to be WGA."
FYI, here's some TRUE history: about ten years ago, THE SIMPSONS television show writers fought tooth and nail and finally DID win the right to be represented by the WGA. (No one could argue convincingly that THE SIMPSONS wasn't "written", although FOX surely tried to!). So the argument that the studios will "never" accept animation writers in the guild is proven fallacious right there.
Feature animation has been highly scripted ever since the day that Mike Eisner famously said, "I don't get storyboards." Thereafter, most feature animation has been developed in the same way that live action features have. Without WGA protection, writers of 120-page dramatic scripts who create concepts, characters, backstories, dialogue, etc. can be asked to deliver draft after draft, and have no share in back end that runs to the hundreds of millions and often includes more mega million dollar merchandising such as toys, games, clothing etc. Remember, these are the same films that are paying superstars like Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, and Owen Wilson their going rates (per their SAG contracts) to do voiceovers.
Myth #3) "Reality writers don't even want to be in the guild."
Here's a news flash - REALITY WRITERS DESPERATELY WANT TO BE IN THE GUILD. DESPERATELY
This one really gets me because I am a writer IN the guild and most of my work is in reality. I also co-own a reality production company that is a signatory to both guilds. We were one of the first in cable reality to do so, I'm proud to say, and over the past decade we have helped convince other small production companies to do the same.
Because our budgets are so small (a one hour non fiction cable show can be around the same as the craft service budget for one episode of a scripted drama series), and because the cable networks rerun our shows ad nauseum, we use a limited buyout deal on the Hitchcock formula that we negotiated with the WGA. Our writers get their P&W covered, and they are protected by WGA laws including arbitration in case company owners like myself and my partners unscrupulously decide to take the writer credit for themselves. In fact, our writers have earned several WGA awards nominations for reality/non-fiction/documentary writing that would not have been possible had we not been guild signatories. We also get the best writers in non-fiction this way. BECAUSE THE BEST WRITERS ARE GUILD AND THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH GUILD PROTECTION.
What writer in her/his right mind wouldn't want that kind of MINIMAL protection?
I have yet to speak to a fellow reality/non-fiction writer who doesn't want to be in the guild.
1/15/2008
Two Sides to Every Story: The Truth...and Everything Else
As the strike continues and things heat up around the DGA negotiations, apparently the multi-national media mega-corps and their $100K a month crisis management flaks are ramping up their online psy-ops and misinformation campaigns.
Deadline Hollywood Daily, in a post detailing a range of less than savory actions taken by AMPTP members against WGA supporters, reported that "AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who've made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart."
Well, we at UH.com can certainly confirm the hate-filled rants. How bad has it gotten? Well, what are the most vile things you can imagine? Did you include references to Hitler, comparisons to the 9/11 terrorists, the "C-word" and every conceivable variation of the F-bomb? Okay, now imagine someone posting that, oh... 40 or 50 times a day, sometimes 10 times in the span of 10 minutes. In fact, it's that kind of stuff - not the obvious trolls - that caused us to turn on comment moderation.
And now we can add a new tactic: pretending to be WGA members in online comment sections.
DHD had a post last week reporting on a Fox employee instigating an altercation with Law & Order showrunner Rene Balcer (and by "instigate," we mean trying to hit him with his SUV). There were witnesses galore confirming the despicable actions of the Fox employee, pictures taken, and a formal police report. Pretty black and white, right?
Apparently not for several "commenters" on DHD, including one "Ben Tramer" who said "there are two sides to every story." Including this one.
Now, usually when a person driving an SUV pushes a person legally walking in a crosswalk with the fender of his vehicle, that is the side of the story. But not to this commenter. According to him, the pedestrian "had it coming" from the SUV and "deliberately stepped in front of cars."
Just one problem with "Ben Tramer's" comment: UH.com talked to Ben Tramer, and he didn't write it.
The real Ben/Bennett Tramer is a WGA member and a strike captain who pickets at Fox. And he was quite surprised - and pissed - to start hearing from friends who read a comment using his name to "advance views the exact opposite of [his] own."
Coincidence? Maybe. John Carpenter, a friend of the real Mr. Tramer, named a character after him in "Halloween II." So maybe the person who left that comment just happened to be a huge "Halloween II" fan... and just happens to work at Fox... and just happens to be intimately familiar with the incident outside the gates... at the exact same place where the real Mr. Tramer just happens to be a WGA strike captain. So we're trying to do a little Internet detective work to track down the person who put up the comment.
But if somebody out there is using names of WGA members to post anti-WGA comments, the real Mr. Tramer said, "It's a sad comment on the strength of their position if they have to use identity theft to make their point."
Deadline Hollywood Daily, in a post detailing a range of less than savory actions taken by AMPTP members against WGA supporters, reported that "AMPTP staffers, consultants and members (especially corporate publicity departments) are busily posting comments on WGA-friendly websites and blogs that Hollywood visits regularly and filling them with hate-filled rants against the WGA leadership, the A-list actors, and the companies who've made WGA side deals. The goal is to turn off readers and drive traffic away and in the process spread pro-AMPTP propaganda and make it look as if the strike is breaking apart."
Well, we at UH.com can certainly confirm the hate-filled rants. How bad has it gotten? Well, what are the most vile things you can imagine? Did you include references to Hitler, comparisons to the 9/11 terrorists, the "C-word" and every conceivable variation of the F-bomb? Okay, now imagine someone posting that, oh... 40 or 50 times a day, sometimes 10 times in the span of 10 minutes. In fact, it's that kind of stuff - not the obvious trolls - that caused us to turn on comment moderation.
And now we can add a new tactic: pretending to be WGA members in online comment sections.
DHD had a post last week reporting on a Fox employee instigating an altercation with Law & Order showrunner Rene Balcer (and by "instigate," we mean trying to hit him with his SUV). There were witnesses galore confirming the despicable actions of the Fox employee, pictures taken, and a formal police report. Pretty black and white, right?
Apparently not for several "commenters" on DHD, including one "Ben Tramer" who said "there are two sides to every story." Including this one.
Now, usually when a person driving an SUV pushes a person legally walking in a crosswalk with the fender of his vehicle, that is the side of the story. But not to this commenter. According to him, the pedestrian "had it coming" from the SUV and "deliberately stepped in front of cars."
Just one problem with "Ben Tramer's" comment: UH.com talked to Ben Tramer, and he didn't write it.
The real Ben/Bennett Tramer is a WGA member and a strike captain who pickets at Fox. And he was quite surprised - and pissed - to start hearing from friends who read a comment using his name to "advance views the exact opposite of [his] own."
Coincidence? Maybe. John Carpenter, a friend of the real Mr. Tramer, named a character after him in "Halloween II." So maybe the person who left that comment just happened to be a huge "Halloween II" fan... and just happens to work at Fox... and just happens to be intimately familiar with the incident outside the gates... at the exact same place where the real Mr. Tramer just happens to be a WGA strike captain. So we're trying to do a little Internet detective work to track down the person who put up the comment.
But if somebody out there is using names of WGA members to post anti-WGA comments, the real Mr. Tramer said, "It's a sad comment on the strength of their position if they have to use identity theft to make their point."
1/03/2008
Leno NOT Given a Pass to Write Monologues
Deadline Hollywood Daily has put up a story that Jay Leno has been given a special dispensation by the WGA, or "pass," to write his monologues for his show.
It's not true.
We've spoken to our WGA sources, and here's what we have: The Guild talked on the phone with Jay today. They discussed the strike rules and how they apply to him. As a WGA member, he can't write anything, including monologues.
Jay is a strong supporter of the Guild and writers, but at the same time he has a show to put on and wanted to see if there wasn't some way he could write his monologues as a "host." The Guild told him, diplomatically, respectfully but directly, that there is not.
Jay, like so many writers, is trapped between a rock and a hard place on this. NBC has put him in a horrible position.
There is no "pass" or special dispensation. The part of DHD's story that is absolutely true is that no one wants a war between writers -- except, obviously, the media congloms.
There's NOTHING that NBC would like more than to see us all start fighting among ourselves over Leno, over Letterman, over anything. They want us distracted and squabbling, so we end up fighting with each other, and lose sight of the real issues here. I'm going to say this over and over, because it bears repeating:
IT'S ABOUT GETTING A FAIR DEAL.
All writers' beef should be with NBC, not Jay. His beef is with NBC, not other writers. We're all fighting against giant, monster corporations, and we're going to argue internally about the best way to do that. It's unavoidable. But we can't let it blow up into something that keeps us from seeing the bigger picture.
If writers lose sight of that, the media corporations win.
Jay will go on and say whatever he decides to say tonight. He's a fellow writer, and I hope he continues to support the Guild and all of us. If he does, that's wonderful, and if he makes a different choice, we'll survive and keep fighting.
Whatever happens, our focus can't waver: It's about getting a fair deal.
Now is the time to stay calm, stay strong, and, oh yeah -- don't believe everything you read.
Here's the official statement from the WGA:
LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:
“A discussion took place today between Jay Leno and the Writers Guild to clarify to him that writing for The Tonight Show constitutes a violation of the Guilds’ strike rules.”
For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.
It's not true.
We've spoken to our WGA sources, and here's what we have: The Guild talked on the phone with Jay today. They discussed the strike rules and how they apply to him. As a WGA member, he can't write anything, including monologues.
Jay is a strong supporter of the Guild and writers, but at the same time he has a show to put on and wanted to see if there wasn't some way he could write his monologues as a "host." The Guild told him, diplomatically, respectfully but directly, that there is not.
Jay, like so many writers, is trapped between a rock and a hard place on this. NBC has put him in a horrible position.
There is no "pass" or special dispensation. The part of DHD's story that is absolutely true is that no one wants a war between writers -- except, obviously, the media congloms.
There's NOTHING that NBC would like more than to see us all start fighting among ourselves over Leno, over Letterman, over anything. They want us distracted and squabbling, so we end up fighting with each other, and lose sight of the real issues here. I'm going to say this over and over, because it bears repeating:
IT'S ABOUT GETTING A FAIR DEAL.
All writers' beef should be with NBC, not Jay. His beef is with NBC, not other writers. We're all fighting against giant, monster corporations, and we're going to argue internally about the best way to do that. It's unavoidable. But we can't let it blow up into something that keeps us from seeing the bigger picture.
If writers lose sight of that, the media corporations win.
Jay will go on and say whatever he decides to say tonight. He's a fellow writer, and I hope he continues to support the Guild and all of us. If he does, that's wonderful, and if he makes a different choice, we'll survive and keep fighting.
Whatever happens, our focus can't waver: It's about getting a fair deal.
Now is the time to stay calm, stay strong, and, oh yeah -- don't believe everything you read.
Here's the official statement from the WGA:
LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:
“A discussion took place today between Jay Leno and the Writers Guild to clarify to him that writing for The Tonight Show constitutes a violation of the Guilds’ strike rules.”
For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.
12/07/2007
WGA Willing to Stay at the Table Day and Night Until We Have a Deal
Patric Verrone and Michael Winship just sent this message to the membership. The WGA is determined to stay at the table until we have a deal. If the AMPTP wants to negotiate in good faith, and end the strike, we are at the table.
Dear Fellow Members,
Before we head into negotiations this morning, we want to give you an update on where we stand.
On Tuesday, after the companies had requested a four-day break so they could work on their proposals, we returned to the bargaining table. We presented a counter proposal to their streaming proposal of November 29. They presented no new proposals. On Wednesday, the AMPTP again had no new proposals, but they did have detailed questions about our streaming counter proposal and other aspects of our overall proposals – and from the give and take of those discussions, we felt that they might finally be ready to engage in serious bargaining. They told us they would have new proposals for us Thursday. On Thursday, we met at 10am, and they told us their new proposals would be ready shortly. At 5pm, they told us their proposals still weren’t ready, that they would be working on them late into the night, and that we should come back this morning at 10am. The fact that we saw everyone from the AMPTP leave the building by 6:45pm is not a promising sign, but we will be at the table at 10am this morning, ready to receive their new proposal.
We’d like to address some of the disturbing rumors and back channel communications we’ve been hearing. For one, we’ve heard that one or more of the companies are prepared to throw away the spring and fall TV season, plus features, and prolong the strike. Aside from the devastating effect this would have on the unions, workers, and their families in this industry, it would certainly explain the AMPTP’s refusal to put any new proposals, even a bad one, on the table. Also, highly placed executives have been telling some of our writers that the companies are preparing to abruptly cut off negotiations. They say the companies plan to accuse the WGA of stalling and being unwilling to negotiate, and that the companies will use that as an excuse to walk out.
The Writers Guilds of America, West and East are going on record now that any such claims are absolutely untrue. We have been at the negotiating table every day, willing to bargain. Furthermore, we hereby challenge the AMPTP to negotiate in good faith, day and night, through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays – whatever is necessary – to get this done and get the town back to work. The Writers Guilds will remain at the table every day, for as long as it takes, to make a fair deal.
Thank you for your patience, support, and solidarity through these difficult times. Please come to the Fremantle rally today. We remain all in this together.
Patric M. Verrone
President
Writers Guild of America, West
Michael Winship
President
Writers Guild of America, East
12/05/2007
DGA/WGA Member Letter to Other Members
This was submitted by writer-director Melissa Jo Peltier. She was compelled to write it and share it with her fellow DGA members after hearing many misperceptions about the WGA strike spreading among her fellow guild members.
"SO VERY HAPPY THAT THE DGA SEEMS SO TOGETHER WITH OUR NEGOTIATIONS..."
...and praying for this damn strike to end already...
...but please, PLEASE fellow DGA members! PLEASE stop spreading false rumors about the WGA strike issues.
I'm in both guilds (as is my husband) and we are both as eager and needy to get back to work as anyone. BUT....
...the rumors being spread hurt everyone in the creative Hollywood unions, not just writers. These myths in particular have GOT to be corrected:
Myth #1) "The only sticking points with the WGA are reality and animation."
Truth is, there were four other sticking points on the table besides reality and animation - and two of them were issues the AMPTP cares MUCH more about than reality and animation. These issues are:
1) The fact that the WGA would NOT agree to abstain totally from work stoppage in solidarity with other striking unions (like the DGA or SAG or IATSE)...
...and 2) The fact that the AMPTP wanted us to take "distributor's gross" out of the formula for internet residuals, and accept "producer's gross" instead.
Anyone who has ever had a piece of a successful film or TV project and had to fight for their fair share in the courts knows that when studios are forced to open their books, "producer's gross" turns out to be translated in studio speak as "Whatever I SAY we made" - (and usually, what they say they "lost") on the film.
WGA/DGA member Paul Haggis has this to say about it, writing on UNITEDHOLLYWOOD.com:
"There's one thing you should know because we know it for sure: Their ultimatum wasn't about reality and animation. It was an insincere attempt to get us to give away the whole negotiation. They knew our negotiating team couldn't accept it, and here's why.
First of all, they insisted that we take all six issues off the table. Not one or two… all six. And the sixth issue on their list wasn't even a demand. Rather, it was a concept embedded deep within our most important demand (you know the one: coverage for the Internet). They insisted we remove from the table any reference to "distributor's gross" instead of "producer's gross."
This distinction is even more vital on the Internet, where distributor's gross is relatively easy to monitor and producer's gross is (as before) much smaller, and, more significantly, impossible to monitor. If we accept a piece of "producer's gross", we'll be taking whatever they decide to give us… and you know what that means.
So, they knew we wouldn't and couldn't accept their ultimatum. They placed a gun to our heads and asked us to pull the trigger on ourselves, or else. The upside on that one is hard to figure."
Thank you, Mr. Haggis.
Myth #2). "Studios will never accept animation writers as part of the WGA"...and/or "Animation writers are already covered under IATSE and don't want to be WGA."
FYI, here's some TRUE history: about ten years ago, THE SIMPSONS television show writers fought tooth and nail and finally DID win the right to be represented by the WGA. (No one could argue convincingly that THE SIMPSONS wasn't "written", although FOX surely tried to!).
Accordingly, THE SIMPSONS movie WAS written under a WGA contract. And rightly so. So the argument that the studios will "never" accept animation writers in the guild is proven fallacious right there.
Feature animation has been highly scripted ever since the day that Mike Eisner famously said, "I don't get storyboards." Thereafter, most feature animation has been developed in the same way that live action features have. Without WGA protection, writers of 120-page dramatic scripts who create concepts, characters, backstories, dialogue, etc. can be asked to deliver draft after draft, and have no share in back end that runs to the hundreds of millions and often includes more mega million dollar merchandising such as toys, games, clothing etc. Remember, these are the same films that are paying superstars like Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, and Owen Wilson their going rates (per their SAG contracts) to do voiceovers.
It's true that currently, a tiny fraction of A-PLUS list mega animation feature creators cut their own very lucrative deals with studios...but what of the other writers called in after the fact to do complete rewrites, create new characters, polishes, dialogue passes. etc? Currently, they can't even bargain for credit.
By the way, feature animation writers aren't represented by IATSE; though currently television animation writers are. Consider television animation hits (aka SPONGEBOB) that eventually go to feature. What happens to the writers who created the feature
storyline and characters? I'm sure IATSE is a great union but it is not set up to represent the unique needs of writers in credit and arbitration disputes, as well as the enormous back end issues at stake here.
And, finally…
3) "Reality writers don't even want to be in the guild."
Here's a news flash - REALITY WRITERS DESPERATELY WANT TO BE IN THE GUILD. DESPERATELY
This one really gets me because I am a writer IN the guild and most of my work is in reality. I also co-own a reality production company that is a signatory to both guilds. We were one of the first in cable reality to do so, I'm proud to say, and over the past decade we have helped convince other small production companies to do the same.
Because our budgets are so small (a one hour non fiction cable show can be around the same as the craft service budget for one episode of a scripted drama series), and because the cable networks rerun our shows ad nauseum, we use a limited buyout deal on the Hitchcock formula that we negotiated with the WGA. Our writers get their P&W covered, and they are protected by WGA laws including arbitration in case company owners like myself and my partners unscrupulously decide to take the writer credit for themselves. In fact, our writers have earned several WGA awards nominations for reality/non-fiction/documentary writing that would not have been possible had we not been guild signatories. We also get the best writers in non-fiction this way. BECAUSE THE BEST WRITERS ARE GUILD AND THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH GUILD PROTECTION.
What writer in her/his right mind wouldn't want that kind of MINIMAL protection?
I have yet to speak to a fellow reality/non-fiction writer who doesn't want to be in the guild.
Directors don't have to worry about reality/guild issues because producers like Mike Fleiss and Mark Burnett already hire DGA directors for their primetime mega hit shows. Hosts of these shows and special guests (not contestants) work under their SAG/AFTRA contracts. But writers are called "producers" "segment producers" and even "researchers" - so they don't even get credit for their work - and the mega reality show producers can work them all they want with impunity.
***
I understand and am part of the frustration about this strike. I am not 100% confident in the WGA leadership's direction so far. I wish we hadn't struck and had waited it out until the DGA/SAG contracts came up. My husband lost a hit series and a pilot, and I have a hit reality series currently shutting down.
And saying all this, I realize it's very possible that reality and animation writers will once again be shafted in the Guild's need to establish jurisdiction in new media. If so, so be it. I'm sure even the most rabid animation/reality advocates agree that New Media is the life or death of all the guilds at this crossroads in history.
But my fellow DGA members do no one in any of the creative unions any favors by vilifying the WGA with rumors and lies, especially before we directors have our own newly signed contract in hand.
Hate the WGA all you want, but PLEASE stop perpetuating these dangerous and divisive myths online. At least get the facts right.
Melissa Jo Peltier
WGA/DGA
"SO VERY HAPPY THAT THE DGA SEEMS SO TOGETHER WITH OUR NEGOTIATIONS..."
...and praying for this damn strike to end already...
...but please, PLEASE fellow DGA members! PLEASE stop spreading false rumors about the WGA strike issues.
I'm in both guilds (as is my husband) and we are both as eager and needy to get back to work as anyone. BUT....
...the rumors being spread hurt everyone in the creative Hollywood unions, not just writers. These myths in particular have GOT to be corrected:
Myth #1) "The only sticking points with the WGA are reality and animation."
Truth is, there were four other sticking points on the table besides reality and animation - and two of them were issues the AMPTP cares MUCH more about than reality and animation. These issues are:
1) The fact that the WGA would NOT agree to abstain totally from work stoppage in solidarity with other striking unions (like the DGA or SAG or IATSE)...
...and 2) The fact that the AMPTP wanted us to take "distributor's gross" out of the formula for internet residuals, and accept "producer's gross" instead.
Anyone who has ever had a piece of a successful film or TV project and had to fight for their fair share in the courts knows that when studios are forced to open their books, "producer's gross" turns out to be translated in studio speak as "Whatever I SAY we made" - (and usually, what they say they "lost") on the film.
WGA/DGA member Paul Haggis has this to say about it, writing on UNITEDHOLLYWOOD.com:
"There's one thing you should know because we know it for sure: Their ultimatum wasn't about reality and animation. It was an insincere attempt to get us to give away the whole negotiation. They knew our negotiating team couldn't accept it, and here's why.
First of all, they insisted that we take all six issues off the table. Not one or two… all six. And the sixth issue on their list wasn't even a demand. Rather, it was a concept embedded deep within our most important demand (you know the one: coverage for the Internet). They insisted we remove from the table any reference to "distributor's gross" instead of "producer's gross."
This distinction is even more vital on the Internet, where distributor's gross is relatively easy to monitor and producer's gross is (as before) much smaller, and, more significantly, impossible to monitor. If we accept a piece of "producer's gross", we'll be taking whatever they decide to give us… and you know what that means.
So, they knew we wouldn't and couldn't accept their ultimatum. They placed a gun to our heads and asked us to pull the trigger on ourselves, or else. The upside on that one is hard to figure."
Thank you, Mr. Haggis.
Myth #2). "Studios will never accept animation writers as part of the WGA"...and/or "Animation writers are already covered under IATSE and don't want to be WGA."
FYI, here's some TRUE history: about ten years ago, THE SIMPSONS television show writers fought tooth and nail and finally DID win the right to be represented by the WGA. (No one could argue convincingly that THE SIMPSONS wasn't "written", although FOX surely tried to!).
Accordingly, THE SIMPSONS movie WAS written under a WGA contract. And rightly so. So the argument that the studios will "never" accept animation writers in the guild is proven fallacious right there.
Feature animation has been highly scripted ever since the day that Mike Eisner famously said, "I don't get storyboards." Thereafter, most feature animation has been developed in the same way that live action features have. Without WGA protection, writers of 120-page dramatic scripts who create concepts, characters, backstories, dialogue, etc. can be asked to deliver draft after draft, and have no share in back end that runs to the hundreds of millions and often includes more mega million dollar merchandising such as toys, games, clothing etc. Remember, these are the same films that are paying superstars like Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, and Owen Wilson their going rates (per their SAG contracts) to do voiceovers.
It's true that currently, a tiny fraction of A-PLUS list mega animation feature creators cut their own very lucrative deals with studios...but what of the other writers called in after the fact to do complete rewrites, create new characters, polishes, dialogue passes. etc? Currently, they can't even bargain for credit.
By the way, feature animation writers aren't represented by IATSE; though currently television animation writers are. Consider television animation hits (aka SPONGEBOB) that eventually go to feature. What happens to the writers who created the feature
storyline and characters? I'm sure IATSE is a great union but it is not set up to represent the unique needs of writers in credit and arbitration disputes, as well as the enormous back end issues at stake here.
And, finally…
3) "Reality writers don't even want to be in the guild."
Here's a news flash - REALITY WRITERS DESPERATELY WANT TO BE IN THE GUILD. DESPERATELY
This one really gets me because I am a writer IN the guild and most of my work is in reality. I also co-own a reality production company that is a signatory to both guilds. We were one of the first in cable reality to do so, I'm proud to say, and over the past decade we have helped convince other small production companies to do the same.
Because our budgets are so small (a one hour non fiction cable show can be around the same as the craft service budget for one episode of a scripted drama series), and because the cable networks rerun our shows ad nauseum, we use a limited buyout deal on the Hitchcock formula that we negotiated with the WGA. Our writers get their P&W covered, and they are protected by WGA laws including arbitration in case company owners like myself and my partners unscrupulously decide to take the writer credit for themselves. In fact, our writers have earned several WGA awards nominations for reality/non-fiction/documentary writing that would not have been possible had we not been guild signatories. We also get the best writers in non-fiction this way. BECAUSE THE BEST WRITERS ARE GUILD AND THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH GUILD PROTECTION.
What writer in her/his right mind wouldn't want that kind of MINIMAL protection?
I have yet to speak to a fellow reality/non-fiction writer who doesn't want to be in the guild.
Directors don't have to worry about reality/guild issues because producers like Mike Fleiss and Mark Burnett already hire DGA directors for their primetime mega hit shows. Hosts of these shows and special guests (not contestants) work under their SAG/AFTRA contracts. But writers are called "producers" "segment producers" and even "researchers" - so they don't even get credit for their work - and the mega reality show producers can work them all they want with impunity.
***
I understand and am part of the frustration about this strike. I am not 100% confident in the WGA leadership's direction so far. I wish we hadn't struck and had waited it out until the DGA/SAG contracts came up. My husband lost a hit series and a pilot, and I have a hit reality series currently shutting down.
And saying all this, I realize it's very possible that reality and animation writers will once again be shafted in the Guild's need to establish jurisdiction in new media. If so, so be it. I'm sure even the most rabid animation/reality advocates agree that New Media is the life or death of all the guilds at this crossroads in history.
But my fellow DGA members do no one in any of the creative unions any favors by vilifying the WGA with rumors and lies, especially before we directors have our own newly signed contract in hand.
Hate the WGA all you want, but PLEASE stop perpetuating these dangerous and divisive myths online. At least get the facts right.
Melissa Jo Peltier
WGA/DGA
12/04/2007
UPDATE: From John Bowman WGA Negotiating Committee Chair
(This just in from John Bowman of the WGA Negotiating Committee.) Fellow Guild Members: Rumors, half-truths, and misinformation about what is actually happening at the bargaining table fly across the internet, are posted on blogs, passed across picket lines like a game of telephone, and appear in stories and advertisements in the trade papers. So, to clarify exactly where we are, we have prepared a report and analysis: In the meantime, here’s a brief summary: The latest WGA proposal would cost the companies $151 million over three years. It is reasonable, serious, and easily affordable. For instance, it would cost Sony only $1.68 million per year. Paramount and CBS would each pay only $4.66 million per year. MGM would pay only $320,000 per year. The AMPTP claims its proposal would give us $130 million over three years. Our analysis – and again, please visit the website to see for yourself – tells us their offer is worth only $32 million. But if you factor in the companies’ regressive proposal on “promotional use” (streaming TV shows and feature films in their entirety for free) writers could potentially lose $100 million in income over the course of this contract. So while we don’t see how their proposal adds up to anywhere near $130 million, we greet their public willingness to make such an offer with real interest. If the AMPTP is serious about this figure, the WGA is confident we are closer to a deal than anyone has suggested, and we are hopeful that the companies will respond positively to our proposal, which is a serious, reasonable, and affordable attempt to bridge the gap between us. Sincerely, John F. Bowman Chair, WGA Negotiating Committee
12/03/2007
Carlton Cuse Speaks Out in Letter to Members
The following letter was written by Carlton Cuse and sent today to members of the WGA. His candor and honesty are deeply appreciated by all of us here at UH. The AMPTP is counting on us becoming more divided as time goes on. But we believe the opposite will happen -- is happening, right now. We are staying strong.
To my fellow WGA Members,
I want to clear up any misunderstanding about where I stand.
On November 16 I, regretably, was quoted by a Wall Street Journal reporter saying I was going to perform some of my non-writing, post-production duties on episodes of LOST to protect the show for the fans. However, I'm sure to the delight of the AMPTP, my statement became the story and gave the false impression that there was disunity among showrunners over the issues of this negotiation.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Every showrunner I know, whether producing or not producing, stands in full support of the goals of our guild.
For the past two months I have been working seven days a week on these negotiations alongside my fellow negotiating committee members.
As a committee we did everything we could to get both parties back to the bargaining table this last week. We were fully prepared to enter into the kinds of back-and-forth discussions that are necessary to reach any sort of labor deal. I sincerely hoped this return to the table would lead to real progress.
I was wrong.
In fact, given the events of last Thursday -- and where things currently stand -- I can no longer in good conscience continue to work on my show in any capacity.
What I will be doing is continuing my work as a member of the committee for as long as it takes, contributing in any way I can, to get us the fair and just deal that we must have.
It's going to be an arduous fight.
But make no mistake -- we are united, we are resolute...
And we are indeed ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
Yours,
Carlton Cuse
11/24/2007
Astroturfers, Sock Puppets, Conglomerate Plants: A Troll by Any Other Name
I want to take a few moments to point out something that some readers of this blog may not be aware of.
There are people on the Internet who have a very interesting job: They get paid by large companies to sit in rooms all day (in shifts, so they have 24 hour coverage) and read blogs and news sites. Then, they go into the comments sections of those sites and try discredit or defuse anything that might be seen as negative to their employers. They always pretend to be ordinary people, and never admit that they are writing as paid advocates. They act as if they are regular folks, just responding honestly to what they've read.
But they aren't. These people are professionals, and they're known in the PR industry as "astroturfers" (because they pretend to be grass-roots, but they're fake), as "sock puppets" (that one kinda speaks for itself) and, most famously, as "trolls."
I was just reading the comments on the Chris Williams story -- the boy who has chosen to join the picket lines, and wrote a story and drew a picture about his experiences. A few people (most conspicuously, of course, an "anonymous") went to great lengths to heckle, demean, belittle and insult this kid.
They even questioned his existence, saying that he was a PR stunt made up by the WGA, or a "plant."
When the woman who met Chris, who sent in his story, responded in the comments section with an offer to prove he was real and not a plant, "anonymous" promptly said that he'd called the number she gave for verification and it was a strip joint.
Yeah, it's not a strip joint. The 7th grader isn't a plant. Sorry.
But that's what trolls are hired to do -- at all costs, turn attention away from anything their employers don't like (for example, a true story about a kid who walks the line with us.) Call people liars, insult little kids, whatever it takes to win. Keep people from paying attention to the actual issues.
And we've got a lot of trolls here. Kinda like we're infested with weevils, except that the weevils are making a hell of a good living off the strike. So actually, they're a little more like parasites.
Because we're a volunteer organization (we aren't paid for this, we're a collection of strike captains and other writers working together because we want to), we don't have the resources to battle the paid hecklers the AMPTP sends out into the blogosphere. So the trolls will continue to show up here, and continue to pretend to be people they aren't. They'll lie and insult and try to manipulate. Why? Because it's the only strategy the AMPTP has. The truth is not on the conglomerates' side.
A lot of people reading this post will already be aware of everything I've written about. But as you may remember, my yardstick will always be my 91-year-old Omie in Blanco, Texas, and she sure as hell had never heard of trolls. So for everyone wondering where all those shrill, angry people in the comments sections came from -- chances are they're hired guns, who lie for a living.
11/02/2007
Howard Rodman responds to Anne Thompson's Variety blog
Reprinted with permission of the author (although, tragically, we cannot pay him for reuse.)
Dear Anne,
Allow me to beg to differ with the 'pox on both your houses' post on your blog. You seem to buy into the frame that the writers (crazy writers!) are asking too much, the companies are offering too little, and that if everyone would just calm down, the rest of us could live in peace.
For this to be true, though, you have to believe that the writers are tortured artistic souls throwing a tantrum here -- something that is demonstrably not the case.
Our president, Patric Verrone is a Harvard guy who wears blue blazers even when he doesn't have do. John Bowman, who chairs the negotiating committee, is a showrunner, a Harvard MBA, and a suburban dad. The negotiating committee is composed of showrunners like Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Carol Mendelsohn (CSI), Carlton Cuse (Lost), screenwriters like Bill Condon (Dream Girls), Susanna Grant (Erin Brockovich), Ed Solomon (Men in Black). Not a bomb-thrower among them.
The proposals of the WGA are pretty reasonable and long overdue. This week we took 9 proposals off the table and modified others. While we knew we weren't reaching all the way to the companies' bottom line, we were making a real offer, to induce real talks -- toetapping, if you will. The AMPTP response: we won't talk about anything as long as you don't agree to keep the current DVD rate as the rate going forward for internet downloads.
The way this has been reported in the trades, particularly in Variety, has been scandalous. The AMPTP statement of this week, saying that they would never give an inch on DVDs, and that oh, by the way, internet downloads are the same as DVDs, was a major piece of intransigence. [I would argue that DVD = internet downloads was more like carefully orchestrated misdirection, aka a Boldfaced Lie -- L.]
Variety Dave McNary reported the DVD part (those writers, again, wanting a bigger piece of an old pie) and buried the lead: internet wasn't even mentioned by him until many grafs down.
The effect -- and it plays into the companies' message handily -- is that writers are fighting the last war. In fact, even as we wholeheartedly fight for a fair share of the DVD bonanza (as well we should), we're also fighting for fair, reasonable recompense in the internet, just perhaps underrportedly.
William Gibson once famously said, "The future is already here -- just unevenly distributed." We agree wholeheartedly, which is why we're fighting for a toehold in the internet now. Because the profits from internet downloads and material created for the internet are also already here: just unevenly distributed.
The companies want the ability to run whole television episodes and whole feature films, with income from advertising, as promotion, without paying a cent of residuals or re-use fees. Why has no trade reported this AMPTP demand front and center? Why will no-one call it what it is: a land-grab of unprecedented proportions?
McNary''s reportage reminds me of the work of Judith Miller in the run-up to the Iraq war. There is over-reporting of AMPTP allegations, under-reporting of the facts.
While your post was certainly not a piece of company propaganda, I fear it falls into the all-too-familiar pattern of "balanced" reporting, i.e., there are two sides, so therefore the truth must be somewhere in the middle. Again, one recalls this kind of reporting from the heady days of the Iraq run-up and the 2004 elections. "Democrats, Republicans at odds over Iraq WMDs." "Kerry heroism challenged." The effect of this kind of "split the difference" reporting is to let the reader know -- sometimes subtly, sometimes not-so-subtly -- that the reporter is wiser, more mature, than the squabbling infants he or she is reporting on.
It may be that CEOs will tell you that we're impossible to deal with. That doesn't mean that we are. And to frame it as "he said/she said" does a disservice, I would maintain, to your readers. Sometimes halfway between the truth and a lie is a lie.
I would beg you, and your colleagues, to do your own digging--not just to report the positions of both sides with the assumption that wiser, saner folks would come to the reasonable conclusion that they are both wrong.
Warmest regards,
Howard
WHY THE TIME IS NOW
(The following was written by Micah Wright on WriterAction. It's in response to a writer who takes issue with leadership.)
Well this is ONE angry Horad that's confused about your stance. The AMPTP clearly never intends to pay us one single cent for internet delivery. The music business model clearly indicates that internet delivery for most, if not all content is the future. What then were we supposed to do when faced with rollbacks and refusals to bargain in good faith? Pray? Or just swallow the bullshit they were trying to shove down our throats, and forget about not only what we're making, but also what every person who ever follows us into this union will ever make?
People like you keep bitching about the DVD negotiating point, and yeah, you're right: DVD was lost 20 years ago, but there's no magic rule which says we can't reopen that topic. More importantly, though, DVD didn't take off for almost a decade after the '88 strike... the Internet is here NOW, and it's here FOREVER, and if we give in and allow them to pay us ZERO on Internet delivery, we can just kiss the idea of ever getting paid residuals goodbye forever.
It's not self-righteousness which is driving this negotiation... it's quite simply the greed of the AMPTP, which clearly sees this as the year in which they intend to break the WGA on the rack once and for all. But you don't see that... you seem unable to get it through your head that the AMPTP doesn't want to ever pay us anything. If you think these people are so reasonable and that they deal in good faith, then try talking to writers who work in Animation and Reality... THAT is the future that the AMPTP has in store for EVERY WRITER IN THE WGA. Because if they don't have to pay residuals to the woman who wrote The Lion King, then why should they ever have to pay one to YOU? Or anyone else?
Oh, and before you give me some fucking sob story about the disastrous strike of 1988, let me bring you up to date with a more RECENT story: mine.
I came to this guild having had a "successful" career writing Animation for $1400/week for five years. During that time, I wrote on several of Nickelodeon's highest-rated shows. My writing partner wrote and directed 1/4 of the episodes of "SpongeBob SquarePants" and I was responsible for 1/5 of the episodes of "The Angry Beavers." The current value that those shows have generated for Viacom? $12 Billion dollars. My writing partner topped out at $2100/week. In the year 2001, tired of not receiving residuals for my endlessly-repeating work (even though the actors and composers for my episodes do), I joined with 28 other writers and we signed our WGA cards.
So, Nickelodeon quickly filed suit against our petition for an election, and set about trying to ferret out who the "ringleaders" were. In the meantime, they canceled the show that I had created 4 episodes into an order of 26. Then they fired the 3 writers who'd been working on my show. Then they fired 20 more of my fellow writers and shut down three more shows, kicking almost their entire primetime lineup for 2002 to the curb, and laying off 250 artists.
Then, once the WGA's petition for election was tied up in court over our illegal firings, Nickelodeon called in the IATSE Local 839 "Cartoonists Guild" -- a racket union which exists only the screw the WGA and its own members -- and they signed a deal which forever locks the WGA out of Nickelodeon, even though we were there first. Neato!
Then Nickelodeon's brass decided --out of thin fucking air-- that myself and two other writers had been "the ringleaders" of this organizing effort, so they called around to Warner Bros. Animation, the Cartoon Network, Disney Animation, and Fox Kids, effectively blacklisting the three of us out of animation permanently.
And why did Nickelodeon do this? Why were they so eager to decimate their own 2002 schedule, fire 24 writers, break multiple federal labor laws, sign a union deal, and to even bring back the fucking blacklist? They did all of that to prevent us from getting the same whopping $5 residual that the actors & composers of our shows get.
For five lousy fucking bucks, they destroyed three people's careers and put 250 artists out of work and fucked up their own channel for a year.
Ahh, but my episodes run about 400 times a year worldwide, though, so obviously Sumner Redstone (Salary in 2001: $65 million dollars) and Tom Freston (2001 salary: $55 million) were right to do what they did... myself and those other 23 writers might have broken the bank, what with each of us going to cost them another TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS each! OH NO! That... that's... FORTY EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS!
A YEAR!
So don't come crying to those of us who have EXPERIENCED what the AMPTP plans for all of the rest of you, that people who are deciding to stand up to bully-boy tactics like that are the crazy bunch of "horads" lustily marching "throught" the streets searching for blood. The AMPTP are the barbarians sacking Rome in this scenario.
The AMPTP and their glittering-eyed weasel lawyers are a bunch of lying, blacklisting, law-breaking scumbags, and the fact that they haven't budged off of ANY of their proposals in the last three months proves that what they have in store for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU is exactly what they did to us at Nickelodeon, and what they can do any day of the week in daytime animation. Or reality.
Strike or no strike. That's their plan: to winnow down your membership, to snip away at your MBA, to chew away at your health & pension plans until there's just nothing left of the WGA. Why? Because they've had a good strong drink of how much money they make off of animation when they don't have to cut the creators in for any of the cash, and now they want to extend that free ride to all of live action as well. THAT is why they have pushed for this strike at every step, with their insulting press releases, with their refusals to negotiate, etc. -- because they're HOPING we go on strike, and that enough cowards and Quislings come crawling out of the woodwork after six weeks that they can force us to accept the same deal that Reality TV show writers have.
If you doubt me, go read their contract proposals again... there's not ONE of them which isn't an insult and a deal-breaking non-starter.
So can we PLEASE stop hearing about how it's the current WGA management which is the fucking problem here? Because, frankly, that canard is getting a little stale.
Or perhaps you prefer presidents like the President of the Guild back in 2001 who just threw up her hands when we were fired and blacklisted out of our careers and said, and I quote, "oh well, it was a good try"?
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
As always, the following content is brought to you by a mouthy woman who's desperate for labor peace, but not afraid of labor war. Everything below is my opinion, and not official WGA anything.
Well, the whole world knows we had a membership meeting last night that was SRO, about 3,000 writers. The leadership informed us in detail of the state of the negotiations, then told us they were unanimously recommending that we strike. The meeting was about our response to that recommendation.
And I'd like to point out, because this is an issue I see brought up in the blogosphere and the mainstream press frequently:
Some people said that leadership never intended to check back in with membership once they had the strike authorization vote. That the leadership would call a strike -- as they constitutionally can -- without discussing it with us as a membership, and in defiance of our wishes if we didn't want a strike.
So let me put this as clearly as I possibly can. Patric Verrone and the leadership did exactly what they promised all of us they would do. They came back to us, reported, made a recommendation and asked us what we wanted to do.
Verrone said more than once in the meeting that, despite the authorization, if the writers in general in the membership didn't want to strike over these issues, there wouldn't be a strike.
After being updated on the negotiations, however, it was very clear that the membership wants a fair deal, and we're prepared to do what we have to do to get it. For myself, personally -- we don't have a choice.
State of the negotiations
It can be boiled down to this: we took 9 of our 25 demands off the table in an attempt to jumpstart Nick Counter's refusal to negotiate. Young went through what we took off the table -- it was real, substantive stuff. The NegCom, regardless of what you hear in the mainstream press, has bent over backwards to be the adults in the room and avert this strike.
Counter came back with his fascinating "we've decided dvd's are really internet downloads, and you will obey" dictum that I've talked about before -- basically, a complete refusal to negotiate on internet and new media. He said that they would not negotiate further with us unless we agreed there would be no negotiation about internet. Which is the single biggest - the watershed -- issue on the table.
Translation: the AMPTP are willing to negotiate, provided we agree beforehand that there's no negotiation.
I have, of late, begun to feel like I've fallen into a Kafka short story, or possibly Cold-War era Russia.
Q & A session
Q & A took up most of the rest of the meeting, with members asking specific questions about the negotiations, the strike rules, Teamsters, etc.
I won't recap all of it -- it was over 3 hours -- other than to say, once again, the leadership was transparent and levelheaded. And frankly, so were the members. We know what we're up against. We don't want to strike, but we're not going to walk away from the most important issue of our generation, the one issue that could potentially determine if the majority of working writers can make a basic living off what they do, because the AMPTP is determined that rich isn't good enough, they have to get richer.
What now?
The leadership is meeting today to decide when the strike will be called, now that the membership has weighed in. When they've chosen the time/day, they'll announce it.
There's still time for the AMPTP to actually start bargaining. We all want them to. We want to avert this. All they have to do... is negotiate.
Later, I'll be posting on some aspects of the strike rules, and hopefully we'll be hosting lots of different posters on the site over the next days and weeks, as well as links to some video interviews.
All I can say right now, though, is this: if you don't have a contract captain, get assigned to one, or even better, become one yourself. If there is a strike, let's all do everything we can to make it as short as possible, for our own sake and for the town's -- and that means mobilizing and impacting the AMPTP in the only place they seem to have any feeling at all. Their wallets.
L.
A Teamster's Letter & Union Solidarity
(Call for a strike -- tonight the WGA membership filled a giant convention hall to discuss the current state of our negotiations with the AMPTP (the Companies), and of our industry. The WGA leadership announced they would be meeting with the Companies tomorrow and are planning to call a strike -- either tomorrow, Friday the 2nd, or early next week. Of course, a strike can be averted if the Companies begin to negotiate in good faith. However, that seems unlikely considering they haven't seriously engaged us on any of our proposals to date.
There are many aspects in this fight, but it boils down to two very important ones.
1.) New Media – the Companies are trying to cut us out of the money they plan to make, off our content, on the internet.
2.) Union Solidarity – the Companies have turned Union Solidarity on its head – saying if the writers strike we are jeopardizing the livelihoods of all the people we work with, and therefore we are bad people and a bad union.
Yes, it true, we are jeopardizing the livelihoods of the people we work with. Yes, a strike will be painful. But, that doesn’t make us bad people or a bad union. The Teamsters have made a huge sacrifice by saying they will honor our picket lines to the best of their ability. That has not gone unnoticed, and it will not be forgotten. We are fighting tooth and nail to keep a proposal on the table that will allow us to honor the picket lines of other unions, because in this town we have to take care of our union brothers and sisters. We can’t let the Companies divide us - pit us against each other. We have to look out for each other, however we can.
If we all stand in this together, we all benefit.
How, you ask?
I received this letter from a Teamster. It lays out why New Media and Union Solidarity are both issues we need to stand up for right now.)
"I am a teamster. A location scout on a TV show. My small corner of Warner Brothers Television is far removed from the writers' offices. I make a fraction of what they do, work more hours, and my family's schedule is ruined every time they write "EXT: NIGHT." I've been on my current show for 10 weeks and I just met my first writer.
Yet if the next time I see him he's wearing a red shirt and carrying a placard, I will not cross his line.
Why?
I could just say "Teamsters don't cross picket lines." I could just say "I need a vacation." I could just say "I believe in the rights of the working man." While that is all true, the real reason is more complex. I believe this is the opening round of a long battle that every union member in
The digital world is not in the future, it is here now. It is now possible to watch Television and Movies entirely on the internet, and the network sites, with ads galore, are proof. This is not a hypothetical. It is profit-making reality. If the writers are denied fair payment for reuse, I do not believe the Directors, Actors and the rest of us will fare any better when our turn comes.
Yes, I said the "rest of us." While I don't receive individual residual payments for my work as a teamster, my pension and health fund does. As the distribution stream goes digital those residual payments will slow to a trickle, and the fund will suffer. When the time comes I plan on being old, sick, and in need of Health Care. And the WB doesn't want me to have it.
So no, I will not be crossing any picket line. And I ask you to join me. Not for the writers. Not for Me. Not for my kids. Not even for you. For all of us. Because that's what it's going to take. All of us.
(The Teamsters are an amazing union who I highly admire. I understand that there are bills to pay and mouths to feed. I understand that some sacrifices for some people will be too big to make. In terms of the legality of what the Companies can do, and the letter threats Teamsters are receiving – reach out to your union’s legal department. They’ll be able to guide you.)
11/01/2007
THE SHORT VERSION --
Or, what the heck do those crazy writers want, anyway?
I don't know about you, but at Thanksgiving I'm going to see a lot of relatives. Mine are all in Blanco, Texas, and I'll be explaining to them -- whether I want to or not -- what's going on out here. Or trying to, anyway.
And it better make sense to the one person who matters -- Omie, my grandmother, my children's great-grandmother, who at 91 is sharp as a tack and really uninterested in long, involved explanations. If you can't get right to the point, she's pretty sure the point isn't worth getting to.
So here's what I'm going to be telling her, just in case the reductionist version is useful to anyone else. And again, as always, these are just my opinions, not any official anything from anyone.
What's the biggest issue?
Internet and New Media.
(I'll be saying it loudly, figured might as well up the font size.)
What are we asking for in Internet and New Media?
Two things:
1. Residuals for reuse of content (like replaying tv shows) on the internet.
We're asking for residuals of 2.5% of revenue -- that means for every dollar they get paid, we'd get 2 and a half cents. It's a flat percentage, so if they're right and they're never ever going to make a penny, well then, we won't either. No harm, no foul.
Since 2.5% is our starting point, in any normal negotiation we'd end up somewhere between what they want to pay (.3%) and what we're asking for (2.5%). I'd guess 1 to 1.5 %.
2. Coverage and protections for original content (new stuff we create for the internet.)
We're asking for basic protections so that when we write original stuff for the internet, we have rights -- health and pension, minimum amounts, credits and separated rights (so if we make some amazing character or show, we get the right to share in its success.)
We're just asking for the same protections we already have for writing in tv or film. Nothing new or weird. Just the basics.
What are the other issues?
DVDs
Currently we get .3% per dvd, we're asking for .6%.
Translation: now we get 4 cents per dvd. We are asking for 8 cents per dvd. Since most dvd's cost at least 10 bucks, that doesn't exactly seem like a bank-breaker. Whatever.
Enforcement of Coverage
There are lots of shows, like game shows, documentaries and talk shows, where writing is supposed to be covered under our contract. The companies sometimes just ignore the contract -- which means folks don't get health and pension, and if they ask for it, they get fired.
We want them to stop that, and honor the contract they signed.
Expansion of Coverage
We want to cover stuff where writers are working without coverage, which means without health and pension and other protections. The two big areas are animation and reality. We think those writers should be covered.
You don't actually think you'll get all that, do you?
Personally? I think in a perfect world, negotiation involves, well, negotiating. That's give-and-take, where we get some of what we want and they get some of what they want.
So far, they just keep showing up at the table with more and more things they're saying they're going to take away -- rollbacks on health and pension, gutting of separated rights, that kind of thing.
But they gave back those resid-whatever-thingums, right?
Sort of. They took that one rollback off the table -- but since they're not moving on "digital delivery", and since pretty much all content is going to be digitally delivered in the coming years, well... we'll lose those residuals as soon as that happens. So without internet coverage, it doesn't mean much.
And it's really not a lot more complicated than that.
L.
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