Thursday, June 3, 2004

More on the WGA

Here's a question I received this morning and thought was worth answering in public...

If there's a strike, how deep does it hit? Would it be TV and Movies only, or comics and other products as well (since DC is owned by Warner Bros...etc.)?

A Writers Guild strike, if there is one, would only impact television and motion picture production, and not even all of that. The WGA represents writers in certain areas and signs contracts with employers in those areas. There has been no real unionizing of comic book creators, and I doubt there ever will be. Animation is divided up. There is some totally non-union production which would never be stopped by any strike. There is animation where the writers are covered not by the Writers Guild but by The Animation Guild, Local 839 of I.A.T.S.E. (here's that union's website) and there would only be a work stoppage there if called by 839. Then the Writers Guild covers some cartoon shows — mostly prime-timers like The Simpsons — though I believe some of those are on a separate contract that, unlike the main WGA pact, has not expired. If the show or studio is under the main contract, it would be affected.

Non-union movies and non-union TV shows would not be affected. There are also shows that profess to be "writerless," including most reality shows and game shows. In truth, a lot of these shows do employ writers, many of them WGA writers, but they call them "producers" or "segment producers" and claim that what they write, though it may look like a script, really isn't one. These shows would probably not be affected. One of the outstanding issues in the recent negotiations has been that the WGA wishes to expand its jurisdiction in areas like animation and "reality shows" and the studios, for obvious reasons, are resisting.

Warner Brothers, like all the major studios, is a signatory to the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement covering television and motion pictures. WB is signed to Local 839 in the area of animation.

• Posted at 2:28 PM · LINK

WGA News

The A.M.P.T.P. (the combine that represents the major motion picture and TV producers) has made its "final offer" to the Writers Guild of America, and the Writers Guild has rejected it. This news story will give you a general overview and this press release from the WGA basically tells them to shove it, only in nicer language than that. So we are continuing to work without a contract and they say they won't negotiate any more with us at this time.

What is happening here is that the structure of the A.M.P.T.P., which in the past worked against the unions with which it negotiates, is now working against the A.M.P.T.P. Its various members (Disney, Paramount, Sony, etc.) operate under a "Rule of One." When it comes time for the A.M.P.T.P. to make an offer or accept an offer, any one studio can veto the deal. They all have to agree.

During many Hollywood strikes, it has been widely believed that this "Rule of One" was prolonging the unrest. In '88, we were out for many months and the rumor was that some of the studios wanted to just give us what we wanted but one or two were fighting internally and withholding their votes. A strike does not hurt all the employers equally, and some perhaps liked the fact that their competitors were being harmed more than they were. Some studios even make short-term savings when there's a strike so they're in less hurry to settle than someone else. There were also — again, the rumor mill at work — reports that two studio heads were quarreling over a business deal unrelated to the Writers Guild situation and that one was blocking the settlement until the other gave in on an unrelated point. Whether these leaks were true or not, they were at least possible due to the way the A.M.P.T.P. is structured.

Our old contract expired a month ago so at any time, we can vote to go on strike or the Producers can vote to lock us out. What seems to be happening at the moment is that the Producers cannot agree amongst themselves on whether they want to lock us out...or if so, when.

What will happen next will depend on whether the Producers can get together and decide to set a deadline: "Either accept our offer by such-and-such a date or we'll lock you out." If they can, then war could break out and we'll get a sense of how strong and determined each side is. If the Producers can't agree to set a deadline then we keep on working and eventually, our cause will merge with that of the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild, whose contracts are up for renewal and renegotiation next year. The prospect of the three major unions all demanding better health insurance at the same time might just scare the studios into dealing with us now. So I don't really know what's happening. I only know it's never happened before.

• Posted at 2:36 AM · LINK