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Here is the message just sent to membership by WGAW president Patric Verrone and WGAE president Michael Winship showing that the WGA-AMPTP negotiations have entered a new phase:
“We have responded favorably to the invitation from the AMPTP to enter into informal talks that will help establish a reasonable basis for returning to negotiations. During this period we have agreed to a complete news blackout. We are grateful for this opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion with industry leaders that we hope will lead to a contract. We ask that all members exercise restraint in their public statements during this critical period.
In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation. Our organizing efforts to achieve Guild representation in these genres for writers will continue. You will hear more about this in the next two weeks.
On another issue, the Writers Guild, West Board of Directors has voted not to picket the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) face many of the same issues concerning compensation in new media that we do. In the interest of advancing our goal of achieving a fair contract, the WGAW Board felt that this gesture should be made on behalf our brothers and sisters in AFM and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).”
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Is the WGA the only negotiating body that opens each of its negotiations by giving up one or more of its proposals at the very beginning? The WGA is like the France of labor unions.
At the beginning of the strike, the WGA gave up its DVD residuals proposal solely because “the Companies said [it] was a stumbling block.” AMPTP offered NOTHING in exchange for WGA dropping the DVD residual proposal. It just demanded that it be dropped.
Now, the WGA has given up its reality and animation proposals “to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations.” This seems to be a similar situation to the DVD proposal. In December, AMPTP had demanded it be dropped.
I hope all WGA members are warming up to the DGA deal. Assuming that the WGA doesn’t give up more proposals, the members will be lucky to get the DGA deal.
AMPTP, 3 (WGA proposals dropped – DVD residuals, reality, and animation).
WGA, 0 (WGA proposals negotiated – none; AMPTP positions surrendered – none).
I know what the score is. I just don’t know what quarter or inning it is. I have a feeling it’s near the bottom of the ninth or near the two-minute warning.
People can claim that the WGA has leverage, but when you open each of your negotiations by giving up something for nothing, that says the other side has all the leverage.
AMPTP is about to dictate a deal. The WGA membership will vote for it – as it has always done. Doubt me?
If they don’t give something worthwhile in return, put reality and animation back on the table immediately. Do not let them off the hook this time. No more of this bullshit from them.
I love how every WGA member who posts here keeps says the DGA members (especially BTL) don’t care about residuals. To answer that question once and for all: WE DO CARE ABOUT RESIDUALS. Residuals are important to all guilds. This negative attitude needs to stop. Yes, guilds have to take care of themselves, and they each have different goals. However, the unifying fact is we are all in this together.
And I’ll take tv editor’s comment one step further – I say we take up a collection to send Nikki on vacation again. If it means a pause to the muckraking and hysteria, it will be good for the whole town.
It’s over. They won. Nice try Guild but it was over when the WGA couldn’t get the DGA to join them and SAG in solidarity. Now, the WGA leaders are using the only leverage they have left, The Oscars and Pilot season, in order to see if they can better some of the numbers in the DGA deal. Maybe there’s enough there to get a percentage based residual on the Internet deal. Otherwise expect this thing to end in the next week or so – and with no great gains.
“Taking Reality and Animation off the table is beyond dumb. Half the reason the networks and afford a strike is becuase they still have reality to fill the coffers.-Paul”
A union, even if it represents a similar/nearly identical worker, can NOT organize that group via contract negotiation. Workers have to organize themselves; unions can’t just toss their organization into a contract. The provision was dumped because they finally talked with lawyers who told them they were dumb for even trying it. They should have tried to organize them a year ago because you are right, it would have forced the AMPTP’s hand much harder than anything else they could have done would do.
Thank you for taking reality and animation off the table! Though I believe that they should eventually be folded into the guild, I didn’t go on strike for the rights of reality-show producers. At last, it appears that saner heads are prevailing. Of course, we’ve all thought that before.
I can’t see abandoning animation and reality as being a good idea.
I thought I heard the AMPTP door slowly creaking open the other day. This is good news on each item. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Hey, Nikki… in order to avoid any unnecessary shit-stirring, gasoline pouring, etc, is there a chance you might respect the WGA press blackout the same way you respected the DGA blackout which occurred while you were coincidentally (?) “taking a break.” It would probably be very helpful.
I guess one of the big questions here, is if this goes well and an agreement is reached, is it too late to salvage the current TV season? Can shows be rushed back into production? Or, is this season already in the toilet?
Reality and animation aren’t a defeat… they were never seriously intended to succeed. They were only put up as negotiating pegs that the WGA could eventually drop to say ‘See, we’ve dropped some of our demands’ as they are now doing. If I were the producers, I wouldn’t accept a deal until sympathy strikes are off the table as well (at least for the term of this contract) — it’s just unfair to bargain for the right to go right back out on strike next week for another guild after having a long protracted strike this time… maybe if there hadn’t been a strike like this the sympathy strike provision would be reasonable… i’d expect that to get dropped as well for any final deal… hope you guys get a decent compensation package in the deal. The way I see it, either a) as someone said, the producers got rid of all their tv development/pilot contracts they wanted to and now they are really ready for a deal (PLEASE) or b) now that the DGA has settled, they have to at least pretend to negotiate for a little while, or are seeing if the WGA will cave (not expecting that) so that they can walk again after having appeared to be reasonable.
The WGA was never, ever, ever going to get the AMPTP to agree to reality and animation unionization. It was well past time for the WGA to drop that demand and work towards actual attainable goals.
Thanks for dropping reality. We have no interest in your help. By all means, I’m for your strike and getting a fair piece.
But I’m glad you lost Reality TV – and for the people thinking, oh reality is just Survivor and American Idol – it just goes to show how out of touch some people are. That’s not a BAD thing, I’m just saying that there is a lot more Reality TV out there and trying to unionize would kill work for a lot of people.
Please go about striking for your own content.
Reality and animation were put on the table just so they could take it off..Verone neens to go!!!If they wanted to be union they would be..DGA was way better prepared than wga..Get it together guys..My family is suffering….
It’s disheartening to see the WGA taking yet another thing off the table before negotiations even begin again. I hope this is not a trend. Continue to fight. The WGA has so much support right now, especialy since they aren’t stopping the Grammys.
Gee, Beyonce says she will perform at the grammys no matter what, and all of a sudden “no picketing at the grammys” Another example of picking who gets “waivers”
I applaud Kates who will go on with the Oscars no matter what, and I will be really interested which stars care about their fans!
The WGA better do a reality check and see how the public sentiment has totally turned. The public is tired, in this economic mess we’re in, tv is an escape, the oscars, the awards shows. Many, many people are much worse off than you, take a look around. You have horrible leaders, get back to the table and negotiate.
Taking reality and animation jurisdiction off the table, effective bargaining tactic or not for the WGA, is a sad day for those uncovered writers. It’s kind of liking bidding farewell to the slave ship as it disappears into the mists on its way to Fremantle.
CM
Why oh why would they give up on reality and animation?????
yea nikki, why don’t you take a break and jump off a bridge thanks
Settle!
animation off the table? canll me cynical but it’s only because i’ve seen how the media corps work this stuff. hasn’t the guild wondered if films like the
“Simpsons Movie” and even “300″ and “Beowulf” will in the future be catogorized as “animation” films and therefore not be subject to writers gettin their fair share? hell, at some point all producers have to do is a little software “painting” and poof, all films can be named that way.
I am not a member of the WGA, I am a member of SAG and IATSE Local 80.
I do not agree with IATSE International’s stance of non-solidarity with the WGA. Our president is a gutless wonder who has no respect for the needs of west coast entertainment workers. His constituency is comprised of all the stage mechanic locals scattered across the rest of the country, he does not represent us.
It is typical in a negotiation to begin by asking for more than one expects to get. It is like haggling with a Tijuana carpet salesman over price, he asks for $75, you counter with nothing, by walking away and wind up paying $30 or $35.
In our scenario who is the tourist and who is the TJ vendor, the WGA or the AMPTP?
I don’t know, but the AMPTP did walk away. I guess they didn’t really want the rug in the first place.
Reality and animation can not be organised with out the willing participation of those writers themselves. If they staged their own strike and walked off the job in pursuit of representation by the WGA, then you would have something to talk about. Right now would be a good time for them to do that, because they are in a highly leveraged position. But they would have to collectively grow a huge pair of fuzzy ones overnight, which is not likely.
Your negotiators probably know this, which is why they waited until now to pull reality and animation off the table. They sacrificed a pawn to entice a crook, I mean rook. But organizing this segment remains a real threat to the AMPTP, even in the absence of a new contract.
Reality and animation were non-starters from the git-go. The WGA will never get jurisdiction over them for many reasons. Never ever. Nor will they get a deal that’s better than the DGA’s. Never ever. Not today, not tomorrow, not last October, not next year. What an expense of spirit this pointless exercise has been. The membership should be looking ahead to replacing their “leadership.” No matter what they get this time, they’ll have no credibility with the producers next time.
When the strike is settled, and it will like all strikes be settled. The writers will have far fewer shows that will employ writers. There will be 15 to 20 percent fewer shows, because those slots will now have reality programming on them. Partially because of the writers strike. The DGA unlike the WGA had a very good plan, and did the research “before” a strike vote. Perhaps the writers should see if they could hire the DGA team to help with intelligent negotiations that will get this town and many thousands of people back to work!!!!