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The WGA West just issued this surprising news release:
Los Angeles – The Writers Guild of America, West is taking on the fight for justice of writers who were fired when they tried to get a union contract with Tyler Perry’s production company, House of Payne, LLC. The Guild today filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that House of Payne unlawfully fired four writers in retaliation for their union activity. The charge also alleges that the company bargained in bad faith with the Guild, which is seeking to negotiate a contract covering the writers on Perry’s cable television series House of Payne and Meet the Browns.
The four writers, Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson, and Lamont Ferrell, as well as supporters from the Writers Guild and the community, will be picketing during Saturday’s opening of Perry’s new studio and they’re asking invited guests to respect their picket line. Together, these writers have written over one hundred episodes of House of Payne. Since April of this year they have been involved in a union organizing campaign with the Writers Guild of America, West so that their work on that show and the upcoming Meet the Browns would be covered by a Guild contract. Despite the enormous success of House of Payne, Perry has refused to agree to a contract that would give the writers health care, pensions, and residuals. On Tuesday of this week he fired the writers, after warning them some weeks ago that they should “be careful about pushing the WGA deal or you could be replaced.”
“We’re asking all those who had planned to attend the opening of Tyler Perry’s new studio not to cross our picket line,” said writer Christopher Moore. “It’s very disheartening considering that this is a studio run by African Americans. What Tyler Perry is essentially saying to us is that ‘you’re black and there’s not a lot of opportunities for you so you’ll take what I give you’ – whether it’s fair or not.”
“I feel like I was slapped in the face, like we were used” said writer and WGAW member Teri Brown-Jackson. “We were good enough to create over a hundred episodes, but now when it comes to reaping the benefits of the show being syndicated and having other spin-offs from it, he decides to let us go unless we accept a horrible offer.”
“Disrespected, betrayed, saddened…it’s hard to describe,” said writer and WGAW member Lamont Ferrell. “The actors and a majority of the production crew on the show were working under union contracts and they received the pay and benefits that you need to survive on in this business. But after all those episodes and success when it came time for us to get a fair contract, we’re told on a conference call ‘sorry, you’re fired.’”
The show’s head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”
The writers and their supporters will be picketing at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios on Saturday, October 4, starting at 4 pm, and on Sunday, October 5, starting at 9 am.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Just a little confusion on my part, isn’t Tyler Perry based in Atlanta, which is east of the Mississippi, which makes this a WGAeast problem?
And if those writers signed on a non-union show–they can’t reasonably expect to be covered after the fact, can they?
for shame, tyler perry.
Seriously, Tyler Perry.
Considering your story & how hard it was for you to break into the business, the idea you could fire writers just because they want to be treated fairly?
I certainly hope there’s more to this dispute.
If not–
Shame on you!
PS: It may have been tough to climb to the top, but the real pain is when there’s no 1 to catch you on the way down.
Ask William Friedkin.
I see that all the recent success has made Tyler Perry think like a mogul. Maybe someone should tell him that the “screw everyone” business model only barely works for the big studios, and that’s only because they can afford to pay the large up front fees to attract writers with a commercial track record.
Perry may find it easy to replace everybody, but series television requires a certain amount of continuity in the talent department, and if he keeps this up, he may find it harder to retain the good ones.
I do want to hear his side of it, but if this is true..I’m not surprised. hate to say it, but, as a black actor, the worst treatment I ever got was from other blacks in the industry..there really is a mindset of, “since you’re black, and I’m black, we don’t have to have the same standards of behavior as others(whites)”..so, less respect, less professionalism overall….seems like certain black folks get some success, then see themselves as the conduit for other black talent to the wider industry…they think they can treat us any kind of way with no consequence.. they’re usually dead wrong….(right now thinking of a certain black casting director who shall remain nameless).
Shame on Tyler Perry. He’s a wolf in women’s clothing. From what I have read he had a very rough life before hitting the jackpot with his writing and (I guess you could call it) acting. Of all people, he should treat his employees with respect and fairly compensate them for the work that they do.
It is important for all writers to get behind this protest because if he is allowed to continue using non guild writers then other sitcoms and episodics are next. It’s the same thing with game and reality shows and companies like Fremantle who refuse to cover their writers. All writers should be upset when any writer is denied a fair deal.
Perry’s actions are outrageous.
And they should send a cold shudder through the bowels of every television writer.
Remember when we were warned that today the Companies would make the reality shows non-union writing and then tomorrow they’d do it to dramas and half-hours? Well, turns out tomorrow is already here.
Non-union SITCOMS.
This combined with the treatment of the Sit Down Shut Up writers earlier in the year really makes me think it’s open season on half-hour writers.
And that shit’s got to stop.
Wow. That’s amazing. I guess greed has no color except green. I can say I’d support them. Everyone needs benefits especially if you generate millions of dollars.
no one forced you to work there. and in america, you can’t force something down your employers throats. sorry, they do not want the wga. there is no law that says they must have them. it is simple.
On the contrary: in America, you can force all kinds of things down employers’ throats — the minimum wage laws, OSHA regulations, Title VII, etc. What people were upset about was that Tyler Perry, having climbed from being homeless to being at the top of the heap, felt that he could go Scrooge on the brothers and sisters who did the real legwork on his (terrible) shows by refusing to give them benefits and insurance, or pay them on the union scale. Popular opinion changed his mind. And the box office receipts and horrible reviews for “For Colored Girls” were his karmic payback. Stick to the gussied-up chitlin circuit shit, TP; it’s the limit of your range in so many ways.
“Together, these writers have written over one hundred episodes of House of Payne.”
…how? There have only been 40 something episodes of that show. Do they have the next three seasons written and scripted already?
I’m really not trying to stir things up, but can someone please explain how in the hell Tyler Perry gets things made?
I saw 20 minutes of his first film and haven’t considered going near another.
Seems like a good guy, but the final product…
Serious?! Better working conditions on a Tyler Perry show?! He gave you better working conditions by FIRING you. YOU. CAN. DO. BETTER!!! Get on a show worthy of a writer’s talents. PLEASE.
Disgusting — when someone who has fought the establishment BECOMES the establishment, and doesn’t see the irony.
Not surprising as everyone knows Perry is a jerk..
I’m sorry but, good for him. He’s worked outside the system so far and it’s paid off. What has the system done for him so far in his career? He’s made it so far completely bucking the status quo of how to succeed in media.
I don’t associate any of the entertainment unions as being anything other then part of the problem with media today. It’s more about crushing the independent visionary versus keeping a comfortable status quo. Perry, for as much as I kind of despise his work, is notable for completely staying outside of this as much as he can while also making money.
If he can create a self-sustaining production company, untouched by unions that no longer represent anyone but themselves and only in debt to the Hollywood system as much as they have to cowtow to him as it’s become clear his product, which they’ve rejected, is profitable, then good for him.
And, by the way, there are many writers waiting at the doors to replace them. The only way most entertainment unions survive now a days is to have strangle holds on production. If you can survive outside the studio system, then hurray to also survive without the entertainment unions. They hardly stand up for the little guy.
How can you say the unions only represent themselves when you have four very real “little people” who have been trying to get union protection against Perry for YEARS? And painting him as some kind of free-thinking maverick because he’s fucking over his employees for things you probably take for granted at your own job? Just stop it. Stop it right now.
Tyler Perry’s lawyer, hired and paid by Tyler Perry, issued “Tyler Perry’s no comment” from Tyler Perry.
It’s nice to see the bloom finally off this rose…
With the stereotypes he pushes — you’d think he was writing for True Blood.
This is interesting. I would like to hear his side of the story too. This show may have had very humble origins, i.e., no one expected to ever have this problem when they first began it.
However, I must correct the “I’m just saying” poster above. True, there is no law that House of Payne must accept the WGA. However, there IS a law that says they can’t fire people for union organizing activity.
If Tyler is smart, he’ll go WGA for the simple reason that he’ll get better writers.
assorted–
Wow. You fundamentally don’t understand the system you are commenting on. Yes, the Writers’ Guild (and SAG, for that matter) DO stand up for the little guy. It is the big money writers and actors who are not really being represented by their unions because the big money people MAKE MORE THAN THE UNION MINIMUMS.
Minimums are just that — minimums. The bare minimums someone can make for doing a certain job. Remember that even if it sounds like a writer or actor gets paid a lot, you are not taking into consideration how long they go between jobs. If you figure out what the average writer or an actor makes — on average — per week, you would be SHOCKED how little it is compared to what you think they are making.
And don’t forget that the TOTAL amount the Writers’ Guild was asking for in the last negotiation from ALL THE STUDIOS TOGETHER, over the LIFE of the contract was about ONE TENTH of Les Moonves’ compensation package for just last year — which was over 67 million dollars!
The unions aren’t the problem. The problem, like on Wall St., is executive compensation and the outright pillaging of the wealth of the American people for the insane enrichment of the very very few.
Perry’s bufoonish films and plays are a disgrace to African Americans. I personally boycott him after seeing only one.
He is guilty of the very behavior that Barrack Obama said had to cease in order for blacks to achieve.
While black filmmakers struggle to advance story-telling and change stereotypical images, Perry continues to show why the effort never seems to get very far. He has set back black entertainment 20 years with his “lack of quality as culture” crap.
While Hollywood transforms into the “big movie” business, minority films have been ignored. The dearth of black film and TV shows has left Perry and Lions Gate free the empty their adult diaper of product for a hungry audience.
Perry can now add tyrant to his other accomplishments of buffoon, hack and drag queen.
I’m sorry but, good for him. He’s worked outside the system so far and it’s paid off. What has the system done for him so far in his career? He’s made it so far completely bucking the status quo of how to succeed in media.
I don’t associate any of the entertainment unions as being anything other then part of the problem with media today. It’s more about crushing the independent visionary versus keeping a comfortable status quo. Perry, for as much as I kind of despise his work, is notable for completely staying outside of this as much as he can while also making money.
If he can create a self-sustaining production company, untouched by unions that no longer represent anyone but themselves and only in debt to the Hollywood system as much as they have to cowtow to him as it’s become clear his product, which they’ve rejected, is profitable, then good for him.
And, by the way, there are many writers waiting at the doors to replace them. The only way most entertainment unions survive now a days is to have strangle holds on production. If you can survive outside the studio system, then hurray to also survive without the entertainment unions. They hardly stand up for the little guy.
Comment by assorted — October 2, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
Thanks for such an ignorant assessment, John Ridley!
Always fun to hear your Union hate after you went Fi-Core (you talentless chickenshit you!) then lied about Frank Pierson’s treatment of you re: minority hiring.
You’re sorry all right!
House of Payne is NOT self sufficient. Lionsgate & TBS foot the bill, so not only could Perry afford to pay competitive salaries to his writers w/ the appropriate benefits if he chooses the “buck the system”, as you euphemistically label screwing his writers; or he could afford for his workers to unionize, which he was also dishonest about by bargaining in bad faith.
You’re applauding a man who is imposing a stranglehold on writers who are already being discriminated against.
You’re disgusting.
Did I also mention you’re talentless?
Serious?! Better working conditions on a Tyler Perry show?! He gave you better working conditions by FIRING you. YOU. CAN. DO. BETTER!!! Get on a show worthy of a writer’s talents. PLEASE.
Comment by Really?!
Really, you’re either ignorant or deluded. Signs point to both. Do you know how many black writers were employed w/in the network system in 2008? 60. Less for other minorities (6% overall). Do you think it’s because that’s the maximum # that applied for jobs & got them? And statistically, minority writers are paid less than white writers.
Check out Nikki’s own post from 2 years ago to get some semblance of a clue. Not much has changed in 2 years.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/we-are-not-that-hard-to-find/
William Friedkin is doing fine. His oeuvre is secure, his money’s in the bank. He’s a tough, mean son of a bitch and he’s infamous for being a tough, mean son of a bitch. Hurricane Billy would rather explode on the sidewalk than have anyone “catch” him on the way down.
Although in comparing him to Tyler Perry, you’ve probably insulted him deeply.
There is nothing new here people. This is where all professional writers live, day in and day out… Fighting to be treated and paid like professional WGA memebers or wanting to be members of an organization that will protect us against others even fellow writers. Last year I called Tyler Perry’s office directly (I was John Singelton’s partner, who created CRASH and has a deal at Universal Pictures, as well as being the Chairman of Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH Film Committee) and was told that Tyler doesn’t use any one else ideas but his own. That he generate material under his name only.
I thought to myself, kind of like Walt Disney did to the architect who designed Disneyland. They were permanently barred for getting any credit from their creation.
Also, last year I was fired by a star for showing her my WGA card when she insisted that I keep doing free rewrites. I told her from the beginning that I was a WGA member and though I needed the option money I couldn’t keep writing for free or for the little money she was paying me to drive to her 800 acre ranch in Santa Barbara. (She know lives on an 8000 acre ranch after marrying one of the 400 founders of Goldman Sachs)
The star said that I was extorting money from her after I FedEx her a copy of my WGA card and the fee schedule what she should be paying me. She had her attorney at Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro, LLP who I might add was the Head of the motion picture division send me a pink slip saying his client was terminating the contract with me because I stood up for my rights as a professional writer.
The star just kept telling me that I blew it! I blew it! My feelings were deeply hurt as I am sure the writers on House of Payne feelings are hurt.
Just because Tyler Perry is black, starting a new studio for black creative people doesn’t make it right or even legal for that matter. The ability to organize is one of our fundamental rights as Americans. Maybe Tyler should read the Federal labor laws instead of going on a shopping spree with Oprah in Paris.
It’s bigger than you all know. Only a few employees have health benefits. Interns are used to work full-time hours, but only get a $6 lunch stipend. No one has a retirement plan. Productions assistants are used to do actual construction work. Tyler Perry is at the top because he is standing on the backs of his staff. He’s worth 500 million dollars! Why wouldn’t all of his staff at least have heath insurance?
Chris Jackson wrote: Last year I called Tyler Perry’s office directly (I was John Singelton’s partner, who created CRASH and has a deal at Universal Pictures..
Dude: Neither you, or john singleton created CRASH. I’m in a position to know. Stop lying, you delusional idiot.