WGA UPDATE: The Good, The Strange & The Predictable
Elias Davis’ opponentAh, summertime, ‘07. The weather’s heating up, the Yankees are struggling, Paris Hilton something something jail something something…but most of all, there’s pre-strike panic in the air.
When Entertainment Weekly starts covering a possible writers’ strike, we’ve finally hit the big time. As we head deeper into summer and approach the October 31st deadline, there will be plenty more hand-wringing to be seen.
Before then, though, we’ve got the little matter of a WGA election.
And before I talk about that, I want to wax positive about our union.
I know. Shock of all shocks. I’m a vocal and public opponent of our current leadership’s policies, but something really good happened recently, and they deserve acknowledgement for their good work.
This month, following on the heels of a successful effort to bring The Daily Show under a guild contract, the WGAw and WGAE worked together to bring four more Comedy Central shows under union contracts: Mind of Mencia, The Sarah Silverman Program, The Showbiz Show With David Spade and the upcoming series American Body Shop.
Those contracts sound like good ones, and they include credit protection, salary minimums, pension & health and residuals.
Why is this so important?
Representation of labor is what unions do. The more labor they represent, the stronger bargaining position they’re in…at least in theory.
My personal theory is that in a union like the WGA, it’s not the numbers that matter, but rather the quality of employees that matter. It’s nice to imagine 1,000 reality editors in our union as “storytellers,” but it’s much better to have 30 people-who-write-words-and-get-paid-for-them types.
You know. Writers.
I was critical of Patric Verrone’s reality organizing effort for two main reasons.
First, Patric insisted on “union standards,” which require the signatory company to not only agree to do all its own shows union, but to force any subsidiary production companies to also go union. It’s a great theory, but since it’s never happened in Hollywood before and the film studios and networks don’t apply union standards to guys like me, something told me that they wouldn’t ever apply it to someone writing lines for Tyra Banks either. Insisting on union standards only gets in the way of actually achieving something.
Second, Patric was leapfrogging past basic cable to get to reality, and while there’s a large argument about whether or not many reality producers and so-called “preditors” are writers at all, no one questions the bona fides of actual writers on a ton of basic cable shows that aren’t under WGA contracts. Why not target clear-cut cases first?
It looks like the Guild is swinging around toward my view of things.
Here’s what the WGA didn’t do this time.
- They didn’t run a corporate campaign against Comedy Central.
- They didn’t attack Comedy Central’s advertisers.
- They didn’t insist that every Comedy Central show get organized at once.
- They didn’t insist that all future Comedy Central shows be under guild contracts.
- They didn’t hold rallies.
- They didn’t strike the shows.
- They didn’t fight with another union.
- They didn’t attempt to organize through the press.
And lo and behold…success. Four shows under Guild contracts. 30 writers getting P&H and residuals and credit protection…all of which are moral imperatives for employers to grant writers (in my humble opinion).
Now, compare that to the ANTM debacle!
Well done, WGA. I don’t know if this is a slight course correction or a signal of greater shifts to come, but I hope this trend continues. This is how you go about the business of representing writers—not through posturing and public aggression, but through quiet, private and leveraged negotiating.
Okay, that was the Good. Here’s the Strange.
The WGAw constitution requires the Nominating Committee to submit two candidate names for each officer position prior to an election. This is a somewhat rare quirk for unions. Most allow “white ballot elections” in which candidates can run unopposed. Not us, though. And that’s led to some weirdness in the past, particularly when no one but one person wanted to run for an office, so, well, patsies were recruited. Allies who were willing to fall on their sword.
Until this time, apparently. Elias Davis is running unopposed for Secretary-Treasurer. I think this may be a first. I’ll check with Tony Segall (WGA General Counsel) on this one, and report back.
And the Predictable?
Kathy Kiernan is running for President against Patric Verrone. Now, I know Kathy. She’s a very good person, but she’s not a serious candidate for President, and I don’t mean that in any disrespectful way.
Kathy was elected to the Board last year, and she was on a slate of candidates endorsed by…drumroll please….
Patric Verrone.
She’s an ally of Patric’s, not a real opposition candidate. And so, in order to go through the motions here, we have the obligatory “contest” that isn’t a contest. Both candidates will write lovely statements about where we are and where we have to go, and neither will take swipes at each other.
In fact, both will praise each other and talk mostly about how they both want the same things.
Then Patric will get re-elected.
It’s not really offensive. It’s just silly. It’s a little strange that Kathy’s the one running against Patric, particularly because she’s a newswriter, and as such, she doesn’t even work under the big contract that’s up for negotiations this fall.
Heh…you know…if she won and then we went on strike, our President would still be working while we all walked a picket line.
That would be amusing.
But she won’t win. She’s not in this to win, but to fill a slot. Personally, I hope her candidacy does at least a little to educate our membership about the fact that we do have newswriters in our union. They’re terribly served by the WGAE, whose Executive Director Mona Mangan has managed to beat her own dismal record for incompetence by bungling the CBS newswriter negotiations for over two years now.
Yes, they’ve been working two years without a contract.
Way to go, Mona. You’re a real labor hero.
I hope Kathy uses her platform, obligatory thought it may be, to shine a light on that sad story. For all of our obsession with internet residuals, there are people out there who aren’t even trying to get any residuals for anything.
They just want a halfway decent contract.
We won a nice victory in basic cable.
Maybe the news will be next.
This is probably a stupid question, but you discuss bringing Comedy Central shows under guild contract as well as contracts for newswriters.
So how are writers for The Daily Show classified? Are any writers on the show considered newswriters?
Nick:
The Daily Show is considered a comedy-variety show for contractual purposes.
The WGAw and WGAE represent CBS newswriters, which include newswriters employed by CBS News or local owned and operated affiliates like KCBS, KCAL and for radio, KNX.
That’s right. We’ve always know the news is a joke.
Forgive me what may be stupid question, but I’m only now learning about the intricacies of WGA rules®s, and the consequences thereof…
If the Guild DOES strike, what’s the outcome? I know I’ve heard that all new writing stops (usually preceded by a glut of script-buys as studios look to fill their shelves with potential projects to last the “winter”).
Is it a stalemate? Do the WGA writers sort of “cut back” and only do smaller or non-union projects? Do the studios hire non-union writers?
Picket lines seem like an antiquated concept. I’m not going to insert my nose into the strike debate because I’m not a pro writer (yet) and it’s none of my business (yet), but if they DO go on strike, is there any point to having a picket line these days? It’s not like the studios (or whatever) are a storefront that moviegoers shouldn’t cross…
It seems like staying home and refusing to work would accomplish the same thing, and you could get some stuff done around the house, like put in that new doorbell or finally start restoring an old pinball machine like you’d always dreamed of.
Let me get this straight: WGA managed to get five major Comedy Central shows under their wing by doing… not very much.
Interesting concept.
The unions over here do very little all the time, and yet they achieve nothing.
Or am I wrong?
Earl,
Great question. I would like to see the answer to that.
Speaking of picket lines. I understand the whole idea of writing spec scripts, which is somewhat popular, came about during a WGA strike with non-union writers submitting said specs.
So, what’s the sentiment on this now? Is it a serious thing where spec writers doing this could be effectively blacklisted from the WGA or even the industry? I would think it wouldn’t be too harmful, since the good writers in the union would easily outdo the spec writers once the strike is over. That is to say, spec writers generally aren’t worth bothering with and even if they were used during a strike, the pressing need for good writers would still exist, maybe more so if a lot of bad work gets produced.
Earl:
During a strike, WGA writers cannot write for guild signatories (all of the people that we can currently write for), and we can never write for non-signatories, strike or no strike.
The only people we can write for are those who employ in non-covered areas (animation, reality television, video games, some basic cable).
We can’t write live action films, nor can we write for network television.
The studios can hire non-union writers (aka “scabs”).
Dante:
I agree. Picket lines seem pointless. They’re intended to draw publicity to a cause (which seemingly does nothing in our case) and to perhaps block other union workers from crossing the line (which won’t work in this case either). However, if the Teamsters decide to honor our picket line, then the whole town would fall apart. In the end, it’s the truck drivers that can bring the companies to their knees the quickest.
S.A.:
The union didn’t do “nothing.” They negotiated, and they almost certainly threatened a work stoppage from those 30 writers. However, they did it quietly, they did it reasonably, and the results were positive.
Jon:
If you aren’t a union member and you do scab work during a strike, my understanding is that the union has no legal ability to blacklist you from future membership once the strike is over.
All we can do is ask you to not do it…because it undermines your own future earnings as well as ours.
Craig,
Why haven’t producers tried to organize and get an MBA? Why is the PGA (Producers Guild of America) still just an trade org?
If casting directors can organize, like they did a couple years ago, why not producers?
Anonymous
Anonymous:
Labor unions are empowered by federal law, and federal law dictates that labor unions are for employees only.
There are various definitions of employee, but the long and short of it is that producers don’t fit the bill. They are considered independent contractors, and they cannot legally collectively bargain as a labor union.
Craig,
When a producer sells a project to a network or a studio, he enters into the same type of agreement as a writer, director or actor—money in exchange for rendering services.
If producers are independent contractors, are you saying writers, directors and actors are not? How so? None are permanent employees of the studio or network. With a few exceptions, they all contract to work on a project by project basis, for a finite period of time.
If producers were to try to organize, what would the WGA’s response be if producers wanted to stop the practice of awarding producer credit to staff writers on TV shows?
Anonymous:
You’ve stumbled upon the $64,000 question. :)
If the companies were so inclined, they could absolutely make the case to the NLRB that many writers, directors and actors are independent contractors.
They don’t, mostly for two reasons.
The producers are in a tougher spot, because they tend to directly supervise other employees. Whereas actors and writers do not (and as you point out, in television, showrunners do their supervising under the name of “producer,” and are paid the bulk of their fees as producers). Directors do supervise, but aren’t really the “boss” of the crew. The producer is.
Still, if the PGA went legit and started clamoring for jurisdiction over credits, I think the WGA would have to fight back and fight back hard. Possibly threaten a strike.
When the WGA got the AMPTP to agree to eliminate the “film by” credit, the DGA threatened a strike…and that was the end of that.
The AMPTP will never risk a strike over something like credits, particularly since they don’t give a damn whose names are on the movies and shows.
Why would the WGA fight against producers over TV credits? Do you think it’s reasonable and fair that real producers should have to share credit with an entire staff of writers?
The money or job descriptions/responsibilities for writers wouldn’t change if the PGA organized. You just wouldn’t be able to call yourself a ‘Producer’ unless you’re a Creator, or you are part of the writer/producer entity that sold the show.
The reason writers get producer credit is because the PGA is just a trade org, and not a real union, with no way to prevent people from grabbing credit. The PGA is defenseless, so they get shit on, in the same way writers and actors, and below-the-line workers were all shit on before they organized? Right?
I think it’s hypocritical of the WGA to complain about possessory credit, and then turn around and shit on producers by diluting their credit.
Am I wrong?
And thanks for your responses, very much appreciated.
Also, I don’t see how the fact that producers ‘supervise’ projects and people should prevent them from having a full fledged union.
Directors supervise actors, writers, DP’s; AD’s supervise crews, location managers supervise locations.
How/why should the responsibility of ‘supervising’ prevent only producers from organizing, while everyone else who ‘supervises’ deserves to be organized?
Thanks.
Well, first off, the WGA occasionally fights for stuff that isn’t necessarily reasonable and fair. Their charter is to get as much for writers as they can.
Having said that, I have no experience working in television, so I’m not the best person to answer your question. I do know that, at the very least, the showrunners are both writers and legitimate producers.
Like I said, I don’t know enough about the facts of television work to say that you’re right or wrong.
In film, I know that certain producing credits have become watered-down, and I am against that…particularly because I actually do produce the movies I write (for instance, I have to go interview a potential department head in about an hour).
The issue with supervisory employees works like this…
If the employers don’t want to deal with you as unionized employees, they’re going to use that against you, and they will probably prevail in front of the NLRB.
If they do want to deal with you as unionized employees, then they won’t use that against you.
Like David Peoples wrote in Unforgiven…”Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it.”
Craig,
About the potential for a strike, my experience is, writers and the WGA feel like they HAVE to saber-rattle in the months leading up to negotiation time in order to communicate to the AMPTP that they’re serious and they won’t roll over.
If no one is squawking, it sounds like indifference or disunion among the membership. But in truth, informed writers know that, as you wrote in a prior post:
“Right now, internet distribution is a Babel-like jumble of different price points, varying models of purchase, a lack of standard media formats and digital rights management snafus.”
“Once it all stabilizes and becomes as fast and common as downloading music, the companies will find out how people want to get their movies and TV shows online and what they’ll pay for them. They’ll find out what the real sales volume is. They’ll find out what the overhead will be, whether they or third parties will distribute, whether the sales will be per unit or on a subscription basis, and so on.”
“Right now, they just don’t know. And because they don’t know, there’s lots we don’t know about how to establish a fair and sustainable residual structure for writers in this strange new world.”
My question is, how informed is the WGA membership on all this, and is there really a serious intention to strike, given that so much of the money, and so many of the models for digital re-usage is still up so far up in the air?
Why wouldn’t the WGA want to just wait until all the streams are really flowing, and really measurable, before demanding a dip? Isn’t there a serious danger in making demands that could easily turn out to be worthless once the digital horizon comes into clearer focus?
Thanks.
Anon:
More excellent questions, and I’m afraid I have to say “I don’t know” to the big ones.
I don’t know how educated the membership as a whole is, I don’t know how willing they are to take a strike…
I do think that there’s a general sense that no matter what the revenue grosses are, if we don’t nail something down now, we’re going to be at a disadvantage later. That’s what happened on home video…we gave them an early break for an emerging tech, and we got burned.
The trick is, as you imply, to forge a definition that is smart enough to bear fruit no matter how the business model works out.
Craig,
I would think the WGA would have the most leverage by waiting until the money is really rolling and clearly reflecting on their balance sheets, so you’d have something concrete to point to.
Even though the studios are always going to be loathe to cave on residuals, waiting for the money to actually appear would at least prevent the studios from claiming ignorance, like they are now.
You know, it’s like you can’t really claim ‘unfairness’ over digital re-usage today in the same way you can over the home video formula, which by now is nakedly, egregiously unfair.
I’m not saying you should wait twenty-five years, but if you wait for the money to really start flowing, then it’d just be a matter of negotiating for a fair cut, as oppsed to guessing what kind of a cut it should be, what size it should be, and where it should come from.
Josh Olsen, would you have anything to contribute to the discussion?
Oh, NO you didn’t.
Oh, NO you didn’t.
Awwwww, S**T, Anon2, you know it’s on now, baby!! I KNOW you know.
It’s time for another ArtfulWriter.com cage match. No holds barred. Josh, where are you? Put your gloves on.
Anon1
Is there anything stopping a short-term deal regarding new-technology residuals? Is there a legal requirement as to the length of the agreement, or could the WGA go for, say, a 1- or 2-year proposal with the idea of renegotiating in the near future?
Anon:
You might be right. But just as waiting would give us something concrete for which to ask, it will the give the companies something concrete they won’t want to give away.
It’s not like there’s no context for a deal. Almost all of our residuals formulae work out to be 1.2% of their gross.
Why not take that deal on downloads?
Your questions presume that there aren’t already parameters to the discussion, but there are.
They want to pay us.3%. We want 1.2%.
I don’t think that’s going to change at all in three, five or 20 years.
Aaron:
Actually, all of our deals are short-term. Our contracts last 3 years, at which point theoretically everything is up for discussion. Practically speaking, however, once a rate is cemented in, it’s pretty much permanent.
Craig —
You’ve been so critical of Patrick Verrone over the past several months. Critical of his spending so many millions to organize the Tyra Banks writers, et al… His failure to organize those reality writers… and of the idea that “reality writers” aren’t really writers, at all.
And then today… an almost near 180 degree turn.
Maybe you know more than I do— but, is the organization of the Comedy Central writers the success of the WGA or is it the success of the 500 or so writers who signed that petition that ran last month in the trades?
Also— those shows on Comedy Central are so clearly written by writers — they seem like the first place the WGA should have pushed — rather than pusing for reality writers. Any idea why this bit of organizing came so late?
And finally — assuming their is a strike — where do you stand on this issue: there are many writers in the guild who end up working on non-guild shows (sometimes as producers, sometimes not) — what do WGA writers owe their brethern on guild shows if there’s a strike? Do WGA writers on non guild shows have to walk off their jobs, too?
Thanks.
Jon:
HE THREATENED MY FAMILY! OH GOD…(sob)
Heh.
First, I think there are a lot of writers working in reality who actually do create literary material and thus are writers as the WGAw’s constitution defines them. Just wanted to be clear about that.
As one of the 500 writers who signed that petition, I’d love to be able to say that the petition got the job done, but it didn’t. The petition was a lovely bit of support for the 30 writers who put their jobs on the line to get deals. The 30 writers…and more specifically, their indispensibility…is why a deal got done.
That’s why I’m patting Patric on the head here and tossing the leadership a little cookie. They didn’t let their usual ideological rigor mortis set in. They bended and flexed with the situation and got the job done.
The reason they didn’t head this way first is simple: their entire organizing doctrine was less about getting individual people union coverage than it was about taking away the anti-strike wedge of non-union reality work from the companies.
Having those 30 writers in the WGA doesn’t strengthen our negotiating hand. However, it improves their lives tremendously, and I’d prefer that this be our focus, rather than grandiose visions of industry-wide revolution.
If there’s a strike, i think WGA members are bound by the rules of that strike. Those rules are: don’t work for a company we’re striking against, and don’t work for a company who makes stuff that we have jurisdiction over.
I wouldn’t begrudge a fellow member from doing animation work during a WGA strike, because it’s not something the WGA covers anyway, and frankly, my interest in unions has more to do with the individual welfare of people than the institutional welfare of the group.
But that’s just me (with full acknowledgement that the health of the group often has a great impact on the health of the individual).
Oh, and I should add…if you’re the Jon Hotchkiss who produces Bullshit on Showtime, my hat is off, sir.
I’m a huge fan of the show. If Penn & Teller had a political party, I think I’d be in it. I don’t think I’ve disagreed with them yet.
Wellllll, maybe about the “family” one, but only slightly.
If you’re not that Jon Hotchkiss, I’m sorry for confusing you. :)
yup, Craig, It’s me — that Jon Hotchkiss from Bullshit.
I’m glad you enjoy the show.
Working on Bullshit and being on Showtime has been the great joy of my professional career. I work for and with terrific people, and best of all, as a writer, we have the most creative freedom of any venue I have ever written for, other than the work I do in my diary. (you know, assuming I had a diary. Which I don’t. But, if I did, it would have a lock on it.. and the words “top secret” would be stenciled on the front next to a picture of Joey Fatone I had drawn.)
Just so you know — I have been reading your blog now for about 3 months… and really enjoy it.
Ah, great! Very happy to have you here.
A few more questions… if we’re on strike, who are we officially on strike against? The networks? The production companies? Both? What if you work for a network’s production arm? What about this? What if you’re a WGA member who works for a reality show on the CW — a show that isn’t covered by the guild. But the CW is owned in part by Paramount and AOL/Time/Warner — can you still go to work? And lets say you “can” — should you?
If we strike, we strike against all of the 200+ signatories to our MBA. Generally, speaking, that’s the live action motion picture divisions of all the major studios, as well as the producers of prime-time network shows, any cable shows covered under the MBA, etc.
If you’re a union member working for a non-union show now (presumably one outside of our jurisdiction, like a reality program), a strike won’t affect your job at all.
Should you keep working?
Let’s just say that I doubt anyone else in those circumstances will walk out…so you walking out won’t do much good.
Is Bullshit a WGA show?
Yup. Bullshit is a guild show. Has been from the very beginning (5 seasons ago).
I think it’s terrific that these four Comedy Central shows will now be covered. They should have been from the beginning, and I hope the WGA will see RENO 911 and LIL’ BUSH covered soon as well.
And oh, yeah —- please insert my usual explanation/assertion of how much actual writing I do on reality projects >here<.
Good to hear.
Same thing if she lost.
-
Hmmm.
I think you might be right about that. I think Patric works on an Animation Guild 839 show.
There’s an article on this subject in the New York Times as well, which you can see online nytimes.com … you have to register, but it’s free …
The other week the annual WGA screenwriters reception was held at a Santa Monica Hotel that charged us each $16 to park there (where does it cost $16 to park anywhwere?!?). The reason it wasn’t held at the previous years’ hotel was that this new one was union-affiliated and we wanted to support that. Appearances at all. If the WGA does go out on strike, will Patric and David continue to work on their own animation, non-Guild jobs? Appearances and all? They shouldn’t. If you’re leading your members out, you should be out too. All the way.
I have a hard time thinking LIL’ BUSH will go past five episodes.
“I have a hard time thinking LIL’ BUSH will go past five episodes.”
If only we could say that about big Bush …
I’m pretty sure Patric, like Kathy, works under a WGA contract — it’s just not the MBA.
My point was, it’s not really fair to single Kathy out on this particular count.
-
Hello,
I’m a reporter looking to talk to some union writers. Craig, I’d really like to talk to you.
Daniel Heimpel 213 229 5324 Daniel_Heimpel@dailyjournal.com
I’ve been trying that “union writer” thing in bars ever since I joined the WGA, and one thing I learned very quickly: Nobody really wants to talk to a union writer.
Jon,
Just wanted to break in and say I’m a big fan of your show too. Glad you’re here.
Derek —
That’s nice of you to say. The sad truth is that not many people do watch it ‘cause it’s on Showtime, which is only in about 10 million homes or so. That being said - the people who do watch it, I’ve found, think of it as something interesting, edgy and even informative.
Jon
Jon,
I don’t get Showtime, but your appearance here reminds me that I wanted to pick up the show on DVD. :)
Jon,
Wanted to join the legions of people saying they enjoy Bullshit.
Join the forums.
Kisses.
Just to clarify… The Comedy Central was not entirely done through quiet negotiation. There was a sick out which was crucial to the shows getting their deals.
Just to clarify… The Comedy Central deals were not entirely done through quiet negotiation. There was a sick out which was crucial to the shows getting their deals.
Anon:
Sick outs are totally kosher with me, particularly when you’ve got writers who producers can’t afford to be out sick.
Hitting the bricks and waving picket signs when you’re dealing with a replaceable writing staff is not kosher.
Also, since I didn’t hear or read about the sick out in the press, it has to fall under the heading of “quiet”, no? Quiet aggression is still aggression. Public humiliation or loss of face is one of the things that makes negotiations into intractable deadlocks, IMO.
Patric Verrone is so totally hated by the WGA membership that only a completely fake candidate like Kathy Kiernan, who actually endorses him, would be allowed by the the corrupt nominating committee to run. No one else was availible?
Anyone, even choosen at random, would beat Verrone. Kathy was choosen because she would fall on her sword.
Let’s hope this time it works. People may hate Verrone enough to put her into power as a protest.
Of course, what the establishment really needs to worry about is a third party candidate. A gathering storm of signatures fed up with business as usual may be on the horizon.
i like boards best that error on the side of less policing and rules, not more. im on a couple webgroups and far and away the one that works the best has zero rules whatsoever. of course this assumes a certain degree of maturity which does seem to be lacking by some WA’ers, bless their heart. but i dont think any favors are done my admins trying to enforce maturity. why on earth would you give creedence to a poster you disliked? why on earth would you let someone you disrespect get under your skin? why wouldnt you just press “delete” or block certain posts or members you cant stand? if you have an issue, why wouldnt you state it plainly, and let it go? ive never understood the unwillingness to do these things, and it seems all the admining and “getting into it” always made such things bigger and worse. on my non policed web board, im amazed how it all works out. how the assholes just get ignored, or quietly rebuked. “piling it on” to them or policing them just seems to encourage them. the WA rules as they stand and are enforced seem to block strong and opinionated posters, and “protect” sometimes more attention seeking, insecure people. everyone can make up their own minds, cant they? i remember reading a flame on wa, towards the wibberly’s film, in fact. the way that flame was written was so venal and reactive, i made a little mental note “she’s not your people.” i dont know the flamer, i dont know the webs, but i do know what works for me and what doesnt. im all for a board where people can state their opinions, everyone can stand up for themselves, and the wisdom of the group rules without “rules.”