A reader of this site named Maxwell writes to ask…
I'm a relatively new member of the Writers Guild of America. If there's a strike as you're predicting, it will be my first strike. The other day, I received a packet which I suppose you also received. It asks me to vote on something called a Pattern of Demands. It's kind of a wish list of things the Guild would like to win for us in the upcoming negotiations but I'm afraid I don't understand why I have to vote on this. What's the opposition to this? I'm sure you can explain.
I'll try. You're making the mistake of assuming it means something. It really doesn't, except maybe in a symbolic sense. It's a way of giving our Negotiating Committee a little more sense of authority to speak for us when it sits down at the bargaining table. In a way, it puts them on a similar footing with the other side. We negotiate with representatives of the producers who can and will say, "Our employers have authorized us to go this far and no farther." Because the Pattern of Demands will pass with an overwhelming majority, our reps will be able to say, "Our members have demanded we get some of this."
That's about all it means and some years, that isn't much. We've had negotiations where the producers, in effect, walked in and gave us what they said was their Final Offer and then refused to listen to any demands. (One thing to always remember: The last time they did that, that "Final Offer" was the first of about eight. I believe there was even an "Absolutely Final Offer" well before we got to the one we accepted.)
As always, the Pattern of Demands proposal is a list of things that no WGA member would contest, except maybe to complain about what isn't on there. The second item, for instance, is "Increase initial compensation in all areas" and this will come as a shock to no one. I don't think there's ever been a labor organization that went into negotiations to demand rollbacks. So the P.O.D. will pass with a huge majority and there'll be industry press coverage that suggests a massive vote of confidence for our Negotiating Committee…and then they'll go in and get whatever they can get. Just vote "yes" and send the thing back.
By the way: I'm not exactly predicting there will be a strike, although I may have said as much. I'm predicting there will be a massive collision of the WGA demanding we get more and the producers demanding we get less. Prepare to hear men who take home $50+ million a year tell us that the business is "sluggish" and that everyone has to take less. It all usually means a strike but it could also, at least in theory, mean the WGA buckling and caving in. I don't think that'll happen though…so get ready for some serious picketing. New technology and methods of distribution have simply rendered the old business models (and therefore, guild contracts to address them) obsolete. If we don't catch up now, it'll be even bloodier to reconfigure our role in the industry later.