Plenty more on this to come, but I think it’s a great opportunity for our union.  While some people may be stuck in the old way of thinking (i.e. strikemongers vs. corporate sellouts), this is a chance to get the best of both worlds: thoughtful, pragmatic, but very unafraid leadership that puts logic and results ahead of ideology.

It’s also a chance to finally achieve the holy grail of negotiations…the one that always seems to evade us…an honest, balanced, strategic and effective negotiations partnership with another creative union.

Anyway, like I said…more to come.

For now, I’ll just put up Howard Gould’s terrific speech from last October.

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I won’t break it here.  I’m more of an analysis guy than Toldja! guy.  But I think it’s a very good development.  More once it’s out.

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The word is that SAG’s membership ratified their contract to the tune of 78% in favor–a stunning repudiation of Alan Rosenberg, Doug Allen and the Membership First faction.

Obviously, for all of us who work in this town and depend on film and television production for our livelihoods, this is excellent news.  If the contract were bad, I would say otherwise, but it’s not bad.  It’s not mind-blowingly great, but it’s adequate.

I’m happy that the large majority of voters at SAG saw through all of the nonsense being fired in their direction. Does this contract undermine SAG jurisdiction over New Media?  No, it establishes it.  Does this contract replace the network rerun residual rate with something far inferior? No, there effectively is no network rerun residual rate anymore, because so few episodes ever get network reruns.

What I truly hope this vote signals is a rejection of an unfortunate trend that has gripped unionism in our town over the last four years. Some people call it “militantism,” but I don’t. I’m very damned militant about the creative rights of screenwriters, enforcement of our contract, credit protections and pension and health care.

Maybe the better term is “magical thinking.”

How else to describe WGAw Vice-President David Weiss’ statement in 2005 that if his slate were elected en masse, all reality television would be organized under the WGA within a few months?

How else to describe writers who voted for strident candidates who walked out of the negotiations in 2004, believing that those very same candidates were our best bet to avoid a strike in 2007?

How else to describe a negotiation strategy that elevated pride over leverage?

How else to describe a SAG leadership that believed they could get a better contract than their three sister unions–in the same cycle?

How else to describe a WGA strategy that rested on our ability to represent editors already represented by The Editors Guild?

How else to describe a WGA strategy that rested on our ability to represent writers already represented by The Animation Guild?

I must admit, there is something fantastically appealing about people who tell you that the impossible is possible. “Yes We Can” is pretty much the smartest three words anyone’s put together in my lifetime.

But optimism must be predicated on possibility. Naturally, if Barack Obama had said, “Can we teach ourselves to breath fire? Yes we can!”…it’s likely he wouldn’t have gotten very far.

I’m sorry to say that for four years now, the memberships of the WGA and SAG have been sold a bill of goods about what we can do. Today, the members of SAG finally said, “Yes we can do SOME things.” Good for them.

Looking forward, here’s what I think we can (and so should) so:

• We can organize Pixar’s feature animation division. Very difficult to do, but not impossible.

• We can organize every live action basic cable show, largely through internal organizing and the enforcement of Working Rule 8.

• We can form a functional alliance with the DGA to share information and strategies in advance of 2011.

• We can reorient our union to become an enforcement machine, working with our members to field grievances faster, act on them more effectively, and litigate violations more aggressively.

• We can do everything in our power to help our fellow unions and the AMPTP combat piracy, which is ultimately the greatest threat to the professional livelihood of film and television writers.

Here’s what we need to toss on the magical thinking pile.

• We can’t organize reality television, and we no longer need to feel that we must.

• We can’t organize employees that are under other union’s jurisdictions.

• We can’t rely on or form alliances with SAG/AFTRA until they get their own house in order.

• We can’t negotiate via public attacks and press releases.

The truth is that I’m probably more militant than the average WGA member.

Perhaps what sets me apart from some is that I’m pickier when it comes to choosing what I should be militant about.

Here’s hoping that I’m not alone. I congratulate SAG on their sane choice. I hope the sanity spreads. Catches on.

Becomes cool again.

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