Do not, repeat, do not, believe anyone who claims that the writers strike is over yet. (Like the sign says in photos taken by Jim Stevenson from today’s WGA picket at Disney Studios.) Here is what informed sources are telling me as to the WGA’s plans for the next few days…
The WGA leadership is hoping to finish tonight or early tomorrow drafting the language of the deal they’ve negotiated with the moguls. (“Our friends at the DGA didn’t leave us language that could serve as a template. In fact, the DGA has no language beyond what was in their press release because they figured they had until June to work it out,” an insider tells me.)
Then the WGA intends to email to members and/or post on the WGA.org website that language so the members will have an opportunity to digest it before Saturday’s meetings.
On Saturday, the WGA West membership meets at the Shrine Auditorium and the WGA East convenes at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Times Square for a definitive informational confab with the leadership. (A guild phone bank has been making calls to members today urging them to attend.) The WGA governing bodies intend to “take the temperature” and “get a sense of the room” at this time. There’ll be lots of open mike time “where people can say whatever they want,” I’m told. Everyone anticipates these will be very long and very contentious meetings on both coasts.
On Sunday (not Monday, as some thought), the WGAW Board and the WGAE Council both meet and will have to vote to approve any tentative deal before it goes to a membership vote. So, the WGA’s Negotiating Committee, WGAW Board and WGAE Council all must approve the contract before any decision on a strike can be made. Board members tell me that, since the WGA governing bodies were authorized by the membership to call the strike, then those bodies are authorized to call it off. (In Article IX, Section 3b, it states that the restraining order has to be authorized by the membership to start, but that it remains “in effect until withdrawn by the Board.” So the Board has the constitutional right to lift the restraining order at their discretion.) As I’ve reported previously, the moguls have insisted that the WGAW and WGAE governing bodies call off the strike before the membership ever formally votes on the contract, apparently so the CEOs, especially Disney chief Bob Iger, can count on an unpicketed and well-attended Academy Awards in 16 days.
I’m told that one of the purposes of Saturday’s informational meetings is for the governing boards to decide whether the membership will approve the contract or not. This, insiders say, will determine if the bigwigs call off the strike or not.
Once the governing bodies recommend the contract and call off the strike, then procedures will kick in to send out ballots to the membership on both coasts to vote on the contract.
Of course, some snafus may occur. For instance, I’m told that if no draft language is ready in time for Saturday, “it’s a very different ballgame”.
Let us all hope and pray for a good resolution for everyone!
While the board may have the final say, I would hope that if a large majority (75% or higher?) felt a certain way about the contract (yay or nay) the board would vote in that favor. Ideally thats how a representative democracy would work, the few who have a voice speak for the many that do not.
Let me get this straight the negotiators feel they have a good enough offer to bring to its members and you think the members would turn it down. Do you honestly think that turning this deal down gives the writers a better bargaining position.I got news for you from one time being in the same position.There is no going back for a better deal.
How could Verrone go back to the table after he agreed that this was a fair offer. You people need to get real and quit messsing around with peoples lifes.
Nikki, are you going to post the draft language of the WGA contract on your site?
I pray to God that come Monday we’re not striking anymore. But before that can happen we need to get the deal our negotiating team is asking for down on paper and signed by the studios. Then and only then do we call off the strike. Get going studio lawyers, the town is waiting and there ain’t much time!
I will hold my final judgment until I read the deal’s parameters, but I encourage everyone to go straight to Unitedhollywood.com and read Joss Wheadon’s post. It’s a hard-hitting dose of perspective heading into Saturday’s meeting.
The moguls have insisted that the WGAW and WGAE governing bodies call off the strike before the membership ever formally votes on the contract, apparently so the Academy Awards can be saved.
If after Saturday’s meeting it’s clear that we still need to get a better agreement, but the proposed contract is a decent starting point, we can still grant the Oscars a waiver without ending the strike.
Ending the strike before a membership vote sets a pretty bad precedent, in my opinion (and could backfire big time if the membership then rejects the contract).
I am a WGA member and I cannot overstate how annoyed I am that after many weeks of denying us the opportunity to negotiate, the amptp now expects us to rush. This is the time to be careful and thorough. I can tell you a hundred stories of rushing leading to bad contracts. And I can’t think of a single story about how giving in to that kind of pressure led to a BETTER contract. Guild members gave up a lot when they walked out. We deserve to vote to take or reject the contract before we return to work, if there is work for us to return to. The Oscars is about trophies. The strike is about the future of the creative force in the entertainment industry for many, many years to come. Let’s not lose ourselves in the excitement and in the panic here. Please. We could be making a big mistake. And as for the people who say, sight unseen, that this is the best possible deal we will be offered, I have heard that one before. I heard it before we went on strike, and about the DGA deal. This is the third time I am hearing it, and it wasn’t true the other two times so I have no reason to believe it to be true now. I don’t enjoy striking. If the deal is good enough I will vote for it. But if it isn’t I will vote it down. So will every single writer I talked to this week.
Dennis Wilson,
There is a huge problem with your idea of rejecting the offer and granting a strike waiver to allow the Oscar’s to proceed…
The current deal is contingent on the strike being called off in time to let the Oscars proceed as normal. Allowing the Oscars to proceed while you go back to the table to negotiate will do 2 things… First, the studios will no longer be under time crunch to get this resolved which means the strike drags on a lot longer not just a few days (as the studios wouldn;t be in an hurry). Second, the current deal has some concessions that the studios agreed to in order to solve this before the Oscars, with the Oscars passed whatever the concessions that the studios granted will be lost.
If the AMPTP were so concerned about having the strike end in time for the Oscars, perhaps they should have come to the negotiating table a couple of weeks or — hey here’s a thought — months earlier…
This time-oriented AMPTP pressure reminds me of those shyster infomercials – “act now – this is a limited time offer!” That, in itself, is worrisome.
This may turn out to be a decent deal, and one the writers should take, but the way it is being rammed down the writers throats by the AMPTP scares me.
And others.
Dennis Wilson,
I thought I would also address your last statement…
you said “Ending the strike before a membership vote sets a pretty bad precedent, in my opinion (and could backfire big time if the membership then rejects the contract)”
The moguls were very shrewd by forcing the WGA NegCom to approve this deal in such a short time frame. The WGA leadership is between a rock and hard place having to decide whether or not to call off the strike before a membership vote, they dont want to lose the deal they have reached with the moguls and they dont want to piss off their members.
If the strike is called off, and assuming the majority of WGA members do not like the terms of the contract, the WGA members would be ABSOLUTE FOOLS to vote against it. What would they do at that point? Who would negotiate with the AMPTP as they would have just rendered them powerless? What would the leverage be since the strike is already called off? I could go on, but lets just say it would definitely be conter-productive to vote against the contract once the strike is called off and would CERTAINLY be the end of the guild as it would be splintered beyond repair.
this is exhausting, and will be successful. there’s a point where striking gets more important than writing.. and i write before i strike
The board can’t end the strike — they can suspend the work stoppage. When the membership votes to accept the contract, and only then, will the strike will be truly over.
Do you guys really want to keep doing for a few more months? Do you really think the deal we’d get would be worth it? If you do, you’re out of you’re mind. I’m sorry. We were never going to get everything we asked for. We’ll get some movement from where we started. And that’s fine with me. I’d rather go back to writing and restore some normalcy to my life and this town than put up with more of this. It’s not like we’re working in a damn coal mine – we get paid pretty well for a job that we like doing. Of course I’d like to get more residuals – who wouldn’t – but I’d also like to work. I make WAY more money that way and it’s a lot more fun than striking.
You do not look weak if you reject a bad deal. You look strong. If it’s a bad deal, I hope the WGA membership has the courage to reject it and keep fighting.
Look, the moguls are panicking at the prospect of losing the Oscars. Fuck ’em! It’s there cash cow to lose! Reject a bad deal and the studios will throw in some more concessions out of sheer panic, trying to get it all settled by the end of the month.
A lot of us in this town are suffering, but why suffer so long for a shitty deal? Better to hurt a little longer and break the studios. SAG will deliver the knockout punch as soon as they can get in.
I’m just worried the AMPTP pricks will reneg on the deal after the Oscars are safely past. They’ll stretch out the actual paperwork on the contracts if they can get the work stoppage suspended, then insert poison pill clauses which will halt the process. Sounds paranoid? What did they do before Christmas? These turds are capable of anything.
Intrigued, no one’s a “fool” for rejecting contract terms they find untenable (and I can live without the name-calling, thank you very much). It’s just that, should the strike be called off and then the contract rejected, finding enthusiastic volunteers to go back out on the picket lines might be impossible, especially among writers who’ve already been back to work. That’s what I meant by “backfiring.”
I agree that the congloms were shrewd in forcing a short time-frame on us (though if the Academy Awards were a factor, they had no other choice), but I have to wonder what’s your basis for saying it be “the end of the guild as it would be splintered beyond repair.” As a 30-year Guild member, I believe we would survive it and soldier contentiously on.
What is clear is that relations with the rest of the town, particularly our BTL colleagues, would be damaged even further, perhaps for years.
Nikki, not sure what the proper etiquette is on reprinting something from another website (in this case, the awesome UnitedHollywood.com) but it would be great if you reprinted Joss Whedon’s letter that he sent in over there, as it shows something missing from a lot of posts: Reasonable doubt (and reasonable optimism too!)
“Dear Writers,
I have good news. I have lots of good news. In fact, I have way too much good news.
The strike is almost over. A resolution is days away. Weeks. Friday. Valentine’s day. Two weeks exactly from whenever my manager/agent/lawyer told me. Yes, after talking to writers and actors all over town, I’m happy to report that the strike is going to end every single day until March. Huzzah! All of this entirely reliable information means that at last the dream of the writing community has been realized: the Oscars will be saved.
Let’s step back.
The Oscars seem to be the point of focus for a lot of this speculation. That either they must be preserved, or that the studios feel they must be preserved, and therefore this terrible struggle will end. There is an argument to be made for wanting the show to go on: it showcases the artists with whom we are bonded (there’s no award for Best Hiding of Net Profits), and it provides employment and revenue for thousands in the community that has been hit so hard by this action. Having said that, it’s a f%$#ing awards show. It’s a vanity fair. It’s a blip. We’re fighting (fighting, remember?) for the future of our union, our profession, our art. If that fight carries us through the Holy Night when Oscar was born, that’s just too bad.
And the studios? Well, the Oscars provide advertising revenue and a boost for the films that win. But the studios have shown impressive resolve in ignoring short-term losses in order to destroy us. I don’t hear any knees knocking in the Ivory Towers over that night of programming. Hey, I wish I did. I wish, like a lot of people, I could hear anything from in there besides that weird clicking sound Predator makes.
I ask you all to remember: the studios caused an industry-wide shutdown. They made a childishly amateurish show of pretending to negotiate, then retreated into their lairs (yes, they have lairs) to starve us out. They emerged just before Christmas to raise our hopes, then left in a premeditated huff. They Force Majoured with gay abandon, cutting deals and ‘trimming the fat’ (I’ve met a couple of ‘the fat’ on the picket lines. Nice guys.) and made every selfish, counter-intuitively destructive move in the Bully’s Bible. They met with the DGA and resolved quickly, as expected.
We have been advised to tone down the anti-studio rhetoric now that a deal might be progressing. Our negotiators have the specific task of forgetting the past and dealing only with the numbers before them. Their ability to do that impresses me greatly, but I maintain that it’s their job to treat the studios like business partners and it’s our job to remember who they really are. The studios are inefficient, power-hungry, thieving corporate giants who have made the life of the working writer harder from decade to decade. They are run by men so out of touch with basic humanity that they would see Rome burn before they would think about the concept of fair compensation. I maintain that they have never revealed their true agenda in the causing and handling of this strike, and to expect them to now is cock-eyed optimism of the most dangerous kind.
I have heard people both in and out of the industry say, “But that’s enough now, right?” I have seen the thing I fear most: that whatever their agenda, they are beating us down. With hope. With rumors. With Time. The mindset seems to be shifting to one of relief and even unspoken gratitude for their return, instead of flaming indignation that they ever (illegally, do you recall?) left the table in the first place. It’s the mindset of the victim. The lethargy of limb that strikes the fighter as he unconsciously lets himself lose. The studio strategists have worked this scenario as carefully as they have everything else. It is so crucial that we outside of the talks remember that, and let them know we do.
This is not over. Nor is it close. Until the moment it is over, it can never be close. Because if we see the finish line we will flag and they are absolutely counting on us to do that. In the room, reason. On the streets, on the net, I say reason is for the ‘moderates’. Remember what they’ve done. Remember what they’re trying to take from us. FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.
I have been mugged an embarrassing number of times, even for a New Yorker. I’ve been yelled at and chased, beaten down and kicked, threatened with a gun and the only mugger who still hurts my gut is the one who made me shake his hand. Until there is a deal – the right deal, not the DGA deal – held out, let’s keep our hands in our pockets or on our signs. Let’s not be victims. Let’s never.
In solidarity,
Joss Whedon”
I doubt if you’ll print this but the studios are strong-arming the writers yet again. Postpone the strike before the membership even votes? Grant an Oscar waiver? Give me a break! – Do they think the writers are fools? These are the only pieces of leverage the writers have. And yet at this critical juncture, after 3 months of striking, it now appears that the WGA leadership has given in? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT RUSH READING/SIGNING/DIGESTING AND NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT. A contract of this importance to writer’s current lives and futures should not be rushed over a weekend!! Don’t sign anything, don’t agree to anything!! Even if there’s good faith on the part of the studios (which there’s probably not) there will still be TONS OF SUBSEQUENT BACK AND FORTH NEGOTIATIONS AND THAT TAKES TIME – MORE THAN A WEEKEND! If the writers give up the only leverage they have – ie the Oscars – the studios will stomp all over them and the writers will lose big-time yet again. BE SMART, GUYS, PLEASE.
That was a terrific post by Joss. Not one of those irrational “Let’s fight to the death, we’ll show them who’s boss” rants. It’s amazing how the media outlets are all jumping on the bandwagon, reporting the strike is virtually over. It’s not over until we say it’s over, and that’s not posturing. Sometimes I think the people we’re bargaining with are real life Mr. Burns(es). Their tactics are so over the top and cartoonish, yet they’re really doing it. They’ve actually set fire to their own industry and crushed all these lives over PENNIES. Actual PENNIES. Yeah, the pennies add up to $150 million over three years, but even multiplying that to cover SAG and the DGA, it’s still an embarrassing fraction of their bottom line. Honest to God, how do they look at themselves in the mirror? How do they read their kids stories at night? I hope this is over, but for all the right reasons.
And that line of Joss’ about having to shake the hand of the guy who mugged him? HOLY SHIT! I’d so steal that if I didn’t have a story to read tonight.
Paul Bernbaum
Also from United Hollywood:
The WGA constitution has a bylaw saying that the board of directors has three options for ratification notices: 20 days, 10 days, or 48 hours. In the case of a restraining order, the 48 hour option would be the best because it would allow strike status to remain in place until the vote is final. Still, there could be a temporary waiver for the Acadamy (Oscars) pending approval of the deal. That temporary waiver could occur as soon as Monday.
Of course, all of this would get thrown out the window if there is a hang-up on deal language or members at the Saturday meetings reject the deal. If rejection were to happen, I am sure the WGA would go back to the table to try to right the situation while picketing continues. By that time, I am sure Congress would want to get involved with hearings and will likely do so. The following is what was posted on Unitedhollywood.com:
How long does it take to have a ratification vote?
The Constitution provides for three timelines in Article VII, Section 2b:
20 days’ notice to members, 10 days’ notice, or 48 hours.
The 48 hour option is reserved for meetings dealing with restraining orders [i.e. strikes] or the “membership being called to discuss and take action on related matters.” Like, for example, the ratification of a contract that directly impacts the restraining order.
Does that mean that the 48 hours will start at the Saturday meeting, and we’ll have to cast a vote by Monday?
No. Because of the notification requirements in the Constitution (same section) the 48 hours couldn’t begin before Monday at the earliest. (Or that’s how we read it.)
Could the Board lift the strike order sooner, and we could still have a 10-day or 20-day ratification vote?
That is possible under the Constitution. But again, the Board has repeatedly guaranteed that nothing will happen without the input (and approval) of the membership. They are planning to get that input at the Saturday meeting.
Dennis Wilson,
Maybe you didn’t understand what I was saying. I was not calling you a FOOL!!! I said IF writers were to vote against a contract AFTER the strike had been called off THEY WOULD BE FOOLS!!!
They might not like the contract, but they would like not having any representation even less!!!
And yes that would be the end of the guild. First of all the guild leadership will be rendered null and void. The membership rejecting the contract would strip them of all negotiating power, so now you have nobody to go talk to the studios on behalf of the guild, you can’t possibly expect them to be able to back and negotiate another deal. Or do you not see that? Furthermore, as you mentioned you would have a lot of members that would just go fi-core. So now you a have guild with less members and those that are remaining would not have any leadership. If you can;t see what I’m saying then you are hopeless.
Rest assured once the strike is called off it is all over!!! That is why the WGA leadership is trying to get a reading of how the vote will go because they realize exactly what I am telling you. A vote to reject the contract after the strike is called off will destroy the union!!!
I understand that you believe the writers have a right to vote against any contract they don;t like. And as long as the strike is still active it makes sense, but once the strike is called off voting against the contract is cutting off your nose to spite you face.
I have learned over the past couple months that arguing with some writers about business realities is pointless so this is my last response to you on this matter. What I have said is fact, you can accept it or not and understand that I never called you a name. I was just giving some advice on what writers should NOT do if the strike is called off.
(P.S. If you think I’m off base on my assessment, ask your leadership what would happen if the membership rejected the contract after the strike is called off – I GUARANTEE THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE SAME GLOOMY OUTLOOK)
As of now, it’s Friday, it’s the middle of the afternoon here in NY and we still have not gotten the deal terms.
In less than 24 hours I’m supposed to walk into a room and express an opinion that affects my career and many other careers on something that I still have not seen and have no real knowledge of.
My feeling, at this juncture, is we’re going to be offered a crappy deal, but slightly less crappy than what we’ve so far been told.
Our expectations have been significantly lowered as all good dealmakers know they should be before making a deal.
I’m speculating here, but instead of 8 cents for DVD, they’ll give us something like 6 cents.
Instead of 17 day promotional window, they’ll cut it to something like 7-10 days.
They’ll still have that outrageous flat fee for the first 2 years.
And we’ll be told that these are great gains and compromises and that this shows the studios really want to end this thing.
Bullshit.
This deal is being rammed down our throats for more reasons than the Oscars.
It’s being rammed down our throats because they know the minute it gets ratified they are going to make loads of cash because we took this.
We went on strike for a lot of reasons and it appears none of them are being seriously addressed in what we’re going to be offered.
We’re at looking at 3 months of walking in circles for nothing.
I would have much rather kept my writing gigs during that time period if this were going to be the outcome.
I don’t think I’m alone.
There should be no end to any strike or any waiver granted for anything until the I’s are dotted, the T’s are crossed and the votes are in.
We’re being rushed, we’re being played and right now it appears our leadership is complicit in this act.
They’re letting us be rushed and pushed and they are contributing to it.
I’m hoping after the meetings tomorrow we see that our leadership stands behind us and is willing to go back to the table and fight if we ask them to.
However, if the deal is good and I’m wrong with my speculation, we all party into the night, celebrate and move on.
If not, this whole exercise was a complete waste of time, talent and money for everyone who walked out 3 months ago.
I’m not a hardliner. I’m not a moderate. I’m a writer.
I just want to know I went on strike for a reason and the people I trusted to help us through this fight have the capacity to realize that rushing this thing through makes them appear to be AMPTP shills.
I hope there’s an honest dialogue at the meetings tomorrow.
I hope the powers that be listen to our concerns and don’t prove Eisner and the rest of these fools who are stomping around calling it “over” right.
If the members of the guild do not like this deal then nothing ends this weekend.
I’ve gone this far. My bank account is running on fumes and I’m scared about that.
But, I’m more than willing to stay out and fight for what we deserve.
Joss Whedon isn’t taking the stance he took because he’s rich and it doesn’t matter.
He’s taking that stance because it’s right and fair and it’s how every single writer in the guild from A list to Z list SHOULD be thinking when presented the deal this weekend.
There’s no shame with picking up our signs on Monday morning and walking again. In fact, it would be a tremendous act of pride to turn down a deal that is wrong for the present and the future of this guild.
The AMPTP walked away from the table and so can we.
Be smart, be vocal and if you don’t like it, let them know tomorrow night.
Time is of the essence people. We’re not going to get a second shot at doing this right.
Let’s not end up locked into a deal that is going to put us back on strike sooner than we think.
Full disclosure: I have been an (almost!) daily picketer and a strong supporter of Verrone, Young and Bowman. I’ve sat in meetings with these guys and seen up-close what they’ve been through. I’ve seethed when the so-called “moderates” tried to pressure us into taking the director’s deal WHEN THEY HADN’T EVEN SEEN IT!!!
I’ve also heard a rough summary of the deal terms (secondhand), which I’ll summarize thusly:
1) Internet, all issues (including jurisdiction): WE WON. Serious gains all around on the director’s deal.
2) Reality and animation: we lost.
3) DVD: status quo.
To me, this strike was all about the internet. So I’m more than happy to vote for this contract and get back to work.
To everyone above claiming that “this deal is being rammed down our throats”, that the leadership are now “AMPTP shills”, etc:
How ’bout some specifics?
You want to keep picketing on Monday? Be my guest. But who, pray tell, would we send back to the negotiating table with the AMPTP? Not Verrone. Not Young. Not Bowman. They’d be too crippled. A vote against this deal is a VOTE AGAINST THIS LEADERSHIP.
And if we weaken them so publicly, and show our division from them so publicly, we doom ourselves in the short and long term – and pit the entire business against us. WE LOSE THE GOOD WILL we’ve paid such precious coin for.
Why should we? Where is the proof that our leadership has made a bad deal? More to the point, where are the SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS on how to attain a better deal? And when would be a better time to do so?
On the terms themselves, I’ll trust my own judgment. As should we all. When just as crucially, I judge HOW WE GOT TO THOSE TERMS – i.e., tactics, compromises, etc., I’ll trust my leadership. Because in the end, that’s how the process works. We elect them, and they act for us. And they’ve ACTUALLY FACED THESE S.O.B.’S ON THE FRONT LINES.
And suddenly they’re not good enough?
Are you **$#ing %!**ing me?
We – yes, we – elected these guys to be hardliners, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. They had the balls to call a strike in the first place. They been belligerent and provocative – but they’ve also built bridges (notably with SAG) that shut down the Globes and gave us some of the most public victories in our Guild’s strike history.
Now they’re taking advantage of the most favorable ticking clocks possible – Oscars and the blow-up of pilot season – and used them to accomplish Goal One and Goal Only:
THEY’VE ESTABLISHED A BEACHHEAD ON THE INTERNET. Yes, in the case of ad streaming shows, we have to wait for 2 years for that beachhead, but THEN IT’S OURS. Starting at 2% of a very real gross. And we’ll never go back! Just like we lost DVD once and for all, we have now got a claim on the Internet once and for all.
Am I totally happy with all the deal’s terms? No! I lament the fact that animation and reality writers are not in this Guild, as they so clearly deserve to be. I’m not crazy about the promotional window. DVD’s are still a joke. I could go on and on (in fact, I see I have!)
But this strike was about the most immediate threat to this Guild: the internet. This is where we’ve fought hardest and (as you’ll see in the terms) won the most.
Read and make up your own minds. Consult your conscience for sure. Question the specifics if you’ve got issues (this leadership seems to like that!)
But before you vote against our leadership, make sure to explain how exactly you could do better.
I’ll be listening.