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I’d like to hear your theories/predictions/suggestions in the Comments section of this post about what positive (repeat, positive) steps can be taken starting January 1st to end this strike in a way that’s perceived as fair to both sides since it’s abundantly clear that neither the WGA nor the AMPTP is going to surrender anytime soon. (I won’t be able to monitor comments until tonight so your musings won’t post right away. Please don’t email your comments, only post them here.)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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It’s clear that something major has to happen just to get the two sides back in the same room, let alone the same bargaining table. I’m almost at a loss as to what this catalyst could or should be. It seems there is little middle ground. Some sort of mediator needs to come to the room and at least get people talking again. I know as a writer I’m terrible at math, but for the studios to be so scared of losing a small piece of pie is like a bully shaking pennies from a toddler. Get some new blood in the room, and maybe they have a chance, otherwise this is going to be a long-ass haul.
I’ve come to the realization that we must – MUST – get the general public involved. Talking to my midwest relatives and friends, it’s clear to me that among the general populace, there’s only the vaguest understanding of what’s going on. When I explain the issue to them, without fail they always exhibit shock that this is even happening to us writers. If people get involved, then the politicians surely will. Perhaps we won’t see a government-induced total overhaul of the industry’s icky bookkeeping practices, but it’ll be progress. And hopefully we’ll all be back to work before spring.
Collective bargaining agreements do not have terms in perpetuity. However, if the sentiment is that even a 3 year agreement is too risky, then why not simply negotiate one whose term is 18-24 months? They can bargain for various “floors” and “ceilings” for minimum new media compensation/residuals and agree to re-evaluate the market when this new term expires. This will allow the town to get back to work and prevent either side from feeling they’ve made a bad deal that can’t be revisited.
If the estimates that 60% of the American public really is behind our strike position, perhaps it is time to ask the public to join the picket lines with us. Perhaps an education program that shows that in many ways, we are fighting a symbolic battle against the hedging of our future by big corporations for all Americans, followed by a request for the public to join us in a symbolic number of “strikes” – in other words, pick the television shows most near and dear to the networks and, one network at a time, call for a one night boycott.
It’s time to take that 60% out and show where it will take us.
Maybe we should stop using words like “surrender.” The WGA is simply asking for increases to stay even with the overall economy and for a fair share of their own business. In lieu of any financial clarity from the AMPTP, a strike was an unhappy necessity. Currently, the WGA is waiting at the table and hoping that the AMPTP will return and, instead of marginalizing Mr. Counter, rely on his negotiating expertise.
The writers become writer/actors and start their own TV channel(s) on the internet, and monetize it with advertising. Then, the money they earn off the stuff they write would go directly to them.
Maybe they could do what Tom Green is doing using the Mania TV people out of Denver – they seem to have the technical end down solid – great picture and sound. Or, good ol’ YouTube would always work – UStream.tv, Stickam, yadda yadda – there are a lot of options. We’re looking for you – we’ll find you out there.
You used to need the big corporations for distribution. But, we have the internet now, so you don’t need them anymore.
We start some sort of independent production houses and the AMPTP can make a deal to pay us for content creation once they realize they like the way our pie tastes.
“Like warm apple pie…”
As a newspaper writer and broadcaster, I’m not in the same league, but wouldn’t it be great if WGA could simply sell its product to the individual shows/producers?
WWP signs on, Busboy signs on, Spelling/Wolf, whoever, signs on. We do this in radio; there is no one controlling (read: AMPTP) entity. “Here’s the WGA standard package, cashier is to your right. See the man over there if you want to haggle a bit.”
The best answer for now is for the WGA to make a deal with Letterman. This would set the template for all other separate deals.It could be the one thing that breaks this all open. Why the WGA is making this so difficult for Letterman is beyond me, this is the thing that could save them.
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
Suggestion: the parties should start by coming up with a declaration of basic principles and use that exercise to overcome their visceral hatred for one another.
Possible principles:
1. The members of the AMTP create value. The ability to publicize and distribute content in a way that gets a lot of attention, with minimal effort by the creators, is a precious resource that ought to be respected.
2. Members of the WGA create value. Sure, AMTP members might be able to make more, in the short run, from selling reality TV shows, but, in their heart of hearts, coming out with the next Star Trek or Citizen Kane or Charlie Wilson that rewires people’s brains will be more more important, more profitable and more fun.
3. Payscales shouldn’t get in the way of AMTP members being able to create new content and take advantage of new, low-revenue distribution opportunities.
4. Writers of successful content should get extra compensation, whether the payments are called “residuals,” “bonuses” or something else.
5. If AMTP members really can’t ever get enough revenue from distributing popular content through a medium to justify paying the writers reasonable residuals (or other re-use fees), then that medium is not economically viable. If, say, it’s only possible, economically speaking, to pay writers $250 per show for a year’s use of a Web show, then it’s not possible for the producers to stream professionally written Web shows. In that case, the producers should acknowledge that they’re just paying honorariums to amateurs, not paying enough to make Web writing a paid profession.
Really, the ball is in the court of the AMPTP, but the truth of the matter is they’re not in much of hurry. The only step the WGA can take at this time is to surrender and that would be disastrous for them and the other unions. This may not be “positive,” but I think it’s the truth. It all comes down to how much the writers can hurt the bottom line and the thing about conglomerates is they are diversified enough that one failing division can be propped up by the rest of the company. The only weak one here is CBS, which is now a separate company from the rest of Viacom and the most vulnerable to a continued strike. The sad fact is, the moguls can wait, the writers cannot wait much longer. Maybe a month or two more before finances truly become a burden on them, but they won’t last until June when the actors union could support them, as well, with added pressure from their own contract negotiations.
i think the wga should approach amptp and express willingness to trade off, rather than cave in, on the “six points” in return for a better offer in new media, in order to jump start talks again. nothing can be accomplished by trying to resolve this in the press. everyone needs to stop looking for revenge and start looking for a way to make a deal; this is just getting way too expensive for too many people.
The moguls should be made aware that the financing and distribution of movies is not an art particular to the US.
The Europeans and Japanese and Chinese all know how to do this. What makes the US the Mecca for world entertainment is the Hollywood Creative Community — the writers, actors and directors who are the masters of global entertainment.
If not for them the Sony lot, the Fox lot, in fact every production lot in the city, would all be nothing more than parking lots. And the moguls would be hustling real estate or managing widget factories in Podunk.
This attack on the Creative Community by the moguls is about as intelligent as a tribe of cannibals deciding to eat themselves to save on groceries.
Maybe both sides should agree to let new representatives sit down at the table – as it appears that some serious egos could use a dousing.
I think we all know the strike will end when: A — the studios want it to end, and B– as soon as a DGA deal is made. We need to stop thinking about what is “right” and “fair,” and realize that those are artificial constructs, and what is “achievable” is all that is relevant.
I think the writers need to face reality and take something close to whatever Gil Cates can get out of the companies in terms of new media payments. Plus they should knock off the revolutionary rhetoric. They’re not storming the Winter Palace, they’re negotiating for wages and benefits.
Deal with half of the WGA’s demands, then talk about the rest when the new contract’s deadline is coming. That’s the only compromise I could come up with. Other than that, it’s a staring contest, and I hope the ARMPIT blinks first. Go WGA!!!
WGA – drop animation reality and no strike you will not get. also ask for producers gross rather than distibutors
AMPTP – get back to the table, offer a proper web streaming package based on number of streams and stop trying to pretend the internet is “promotional”
Send in the Governator!
I reject the question as presently phrased, because the WGA proposals already are fair to both sides. As such, no further concessions should be made by the writers, and for that matter, DVD residuals should be returned to the list.
As for what steps can be taken to bring the AMPTP back to the contract negotiations, I believe the NLRB action is the best approach.
“Surrender” is a pretty telling word. This is not supposed to be a war, it’s supposed to be a business negotiation.
My suggestion is that the WGA announce (via the Negotiating Committee or, perhaps, via some ad hoc group of writers — to preserve ‘plausible deniability’) that, while it will NEVER submit to an ultimatum, it’s prepared to do some healthy horse trading, specifically including the dread six items in the AMPTP’s ultimatum, as soon as the AMPTP sits down at the bargaining table with it. And it should more specifically drop a direct hint that perhaps it can live with organizing reality and animation writers the traditional way rather than demanding it at the contract negotiating table — PROVIDED the AMPTP commits to giving up some of its more pernicious demands.
If the conflict between the WGA’s demands and the AMPTP’s offers continues to be framed in terms of war, enemies and total capitulation, it will never end. The one thing the pilot writers got right in their open letter, and the thing that’s hammered home with every installment of the “Why We Write” series, is that WGA members are dependent on their creative partnership with the AMPTP companies to turn their words into actual entertainment. The AMPTP can create non-scripted programming and can repurpose existing programming to fill TV air time, and so can get by for a while without words from WGA writers, but eventually it, too, will feel its dependence on those writers.
So both sides can either persist in thinking of this process as a pure test of power and dominance, or they can decide that, since a deal has to be reached eventually, it makes more sense to offer movement now than be forced to do it later. However, I don NOT recommend that the WGA offer anything to the AMPTP without demanding a reciprocal and simultaneous concession from the AMPTP, in a form that is verifiable and binding.
1. AMPTP puts forth a complete proposal that isn’t everything the writers asked for but is real, in good faith, respectful of the writers’ contribution to film and television “content” and actually designed with the idea that the WGA COULD accept it, not set up from the word go to force a ‘no’ and then try to use their stooges at Variety to make the WGA the bad guy.
2. The WGA gives it serious consideration (and there’s been no reason so far to believe they wouldn’t give a proposal made in seriousness serious consideration).
3. They come back with a small face-saving counter.
4. AMPTP only agrees to a small portion of the counter in order to save face themselves.
5. Everybody goes back to work.
In other words, the AMPTP takes this seriously as a negotiation and temporarily gives up its idea of bullying and starving the unions into oblivion for now.
I realize we have more chance of Santa and his elves mediating this thing, Nikki, but you asked…
Thanks for the “positive” emphasis. That’s where I believe things should begin: it’s time to stop demonizing, cursing and ridiculing. If any forward motion is going to be made, then the anger, contempt and condemnation that are the current stock and trade of both sides needs to stop. How can we be expected to be rational and calm in a negotiation after having “soaked” in rhetoric and bashing? It’s ridiculous to think that those thoughts can be “turned off” when sitting down to work out a deal. You are what you think, meaning – the poison works its way into every act. You will not respect the other person’s point of view, consider it carefully and respond, if you have been “hating” on them consistently. This is more than just a “press blackout”. It’s a call to the character of both sides. The WGA and the AMPTP will both be judged by their ability to put aside their own emotions and get down to business. Restraint and clear eyes are needed now. Not more propaganda and preaching to the choir.
Make your own shows. Sell them on iTunes.
I think a respected industry leader with a foot in both camps — James Schamus? Toby Emmerich? — or an outside presence acceptable to both sides — David Picker? Kathleen Kennedy? — should moderate a roundtable discussion at some large venue, with simulcasting on the Web. Participants should include a few moguls and a few member of WGA’s strike committee; but NOT Counter, Verrone, or anyone whose statements won’t be taken seriously by the other side. I would also include a not-currently-employed-by-a-studio business whiz like Dolgen or Biondi, who could come up with a few hypothetical scenarios for the participants to discuss.
I also think pigs should fly.