Where I Stand

[deleted]

”If the WGA’s build-up to a strike precipitates a good deal today, or tomorrow, or in three days, then I will acknowledge that leadership did one hell of a job.

If the WGA’s build-up to a strike is merely the prerequisite movement for an actual strike, then I will criticize leadership for lighting this Guild on fire in protest, when I think there was another way to have arrived at a more productive, positive result.”

Hind sight is a great thing to have. But isn’t there the argument that tough decisions have to be made before the hindsighters can throw their 2 cents in?

I and I’m sure absolutely everyone else here wouldn’t mind, Craig, that you break your own rule here and delete #1’s comment. Really? Republican douchebags? And all in caps? Yeesh.

Craig, while I may not agree with all your points or even the way you articulate your points, what I really love is the notion of conflict you convey. It’s a fucking difficult situation. Period. There is no real win coming for either side, only degrees of acceptance and hopefully a working accord we can all live with. This is the history of writers and producers since the beginning

Craig, I bet comment #1 and comment #3 are by the same troll taking both sides of this. You should do your Captain Queeg paranoid thing again and check their I.P addresses to see if I’m right. Because even though you let people post anonymously and tout the First Amendment, it’s important that you constantly undercut that sentiment by pulling a Big Brother and trying to find out who they really are.

[deleted]

And I bet #5 is the same as #3 and #1, just working out his multiple personality disorder (you might say he’s “complex”).

Look, the people who criticize craig should know that while this blog is mostly populated by the, how should I say, neo-con wing of the Writers’ Guild and represents an extreme fringe position, it is still a useful source of information that will even break news on occassion. plus, craig does not charge a membership fee and does this to give something back.

Nobody is forcing you to come here, so be nice.

Let’s try and stay on-topic.

Also, if I do delete comments, I’ll just leave a “deleted” thingy there so that the numbering doesn’t go all screwy.

I am amazed to see that the pickets are only scheduled for 9A-1P and 1P-5P. Amazed. I understand if there’s a logic about location shoots, but I really wonder how that affects the large number of shows that are shooting on the backlots, including mine.

I have said before, and I will say again here: If you want to have an impact on the studios, then you must picket starting at least at 6AM, if not earlier. I’ve heard people say 5AM. Although most companies leaving the lot will bring the trucks out between 3AM and 5AM, to be landed on location by 5AM (so that the makeup trailer and actors’ trailers can be ready for the early cast).

If there is no picket before 9AM, then there will be no impact on most productions AT ALL.

Also, if the pickets only operate at one gate, you will watch the crew happily walk in through another, and once again the picket will have no impact.

I say all this in empathy with you, and in the hope that the strike can be short.

In the 1964 presidential election, Tom Hayden articulated the demurrers many people had about what came along with the available choices: “Part of the way with LBJ.”

I don’t know anyone who wants to take the offer on the table. The “take the deal” voices of past negotiations and strikes were either silent, or not even in the room.

But there is another source of silence - effective Guild activists who by choice did not participate in strike planning, nor the absurdities of the corporate campaign, nor the failed efforts to organize reality TV. These people are silent because we were the ones saying the Guild needed better thinking than to the deterent efficacy of a strike in which we have hegemony over network on successfully organizing reality TV.

Instead we have a strategy reliant on an alliance with the Teamsters allowing us tactics to change management’s goals from Day One by costing AMPTP money from Day One. Writers United didn’t invent the tactics and David Young didn’t bring them in. Location picketing is something we tried in 1988. This time the Teamsters in 399 are cooperating. Teamster rank and file believe in solidarity, this time out, and will be taking the brunt of the risk of retaliation.

But why are so many people who’ve been in and led WGA strikes in practice sitting this one out, and not being contract captains? It’s not just age or weariness. There’s a malaise that comes of being talked to by “true believers,” because what we hear is a disconnect from reality. They’re the people who have chants to teach picketers, but didn’t seem to have time to do practical instruction on what to do on the street in the “Flying Squads.” What we sense is other agendas.

The only people involved who seem grounded, and whose main goal is achieving a decent contract, which is the only goal which can be achieved in MBA negotiations is the Negotiating Committee itself.

With you, I expect the Guild to be around after Patric Verrone, but I hope that the experience of the strike is transformational for the membership. It’s time for the members to take over, in the messy process of participatory democracy.

It was Flavor Aid. The Peoples’ Temple drank cyanide-laced FLAVOR AID.

Thank you.

Craig, are you gonna give us any more detail on the “whispers” you’ve been hearing? Come on, man… At least put something up on WA.

Art:

Did you see the comment in the other thread about 399 asking the WGA not to picket earlier than 9 AM?

Something’s fishy here.

I don’t post on WA anymore.

Okay. Not really the point of my question, but, okay. I know you’ll fill us in when / if it feels appropriate, I just… really wanna know, you know?

Someone just told me the DGA will be asking for favored nations as far as any gains we might get, irrespective of their own negotiations, which just hangs us out all the more.

Sound feasible?

What do you think, Craig? You’re DGA too.

I think the AW site time is still an hour ahead.

Craig — per your previous post, are you still hearing quasi-optimistic “whispers.” How do things look — in your opinion, of course… tnx.

Nikki Finke is posting a similar “whispers” thingee on her blog this a.m.

I’m a WGA member and a strike captain.

Some of my first exposure to WGA politics was through this blog. Even before I was a member, I followed Craig’s comments closely. In many ways, I joined the guild with the expectation of it being a total mess.

But you know what?

I haven’t seen that.

I haven’t seen any of the people Craig is talking about - the guys who want to stick it to “the man” - and I’ve been talking to a lot of people. I’m sure they exist. I could probably dig up some posts in the forums. But in terms of the actual rank-and-file membership that I’ve interacted?

I haven’t ONCE heard somebody talk about their motivation being “sticking it to the man” in any way, shape, or form.

There are some people - like Craig - who really don’t seem to like Verrone. And I can certainly look at a couple of things Verrone & co. did - like bungle the ANTM strike, like the way a couple of longtime staffers were dismissed - and say, yeah, you know what, they didn’t handle that well.

But the interesting thing, Craig, is that your vehement dislike for these people seems to predate all of that. It’s not just that you supported Ted in the last election. It seems like you’ve ALWAYS had it in for these guys, and felt they were incompetent, and I’m trying to understand why.

If this strike fails to get us a good deal, then our leadership should be rightfully thrown out on their ear. Their strategy will have been repudiated.

As near as I can tell, the last major WGA election boiled down to a battle of attitudes: “We can get what we want by forming a tighter alliance with the producers” versus “We have to be prepared to fight to get what we want from the producers.”

Somehow, thanks in part to voices like yours, “We have to be prepared to fight to get what we want,” has been spun, in some online circles, as “We want to fight, who cares if we come out of it worse.”

And yet … again and again, I look for some indication that’s the true message of Verrone & company, and I don’t see it. You say we’re looking for a fight? Really? Well, at the all-member meeting last Thursday, the biggest ovation came for negotiating committee member Howard Gould, who spoke extemporaneously about how he, starting from a moderate position, became convinced that a strike was our only option.

(Yes, there was more applause for the speaker who asked “why aren’t we on strike already?” than I would have liked. But Gould brought the house down.)

Have our current leadership been preparing us for a strike for a long time? Absolutely. But, if you truly believe a strike is the only way to get fair treatment, isn’t that the only way to have a chance of a strike being effective?

Do you really think - as seems to be the subtext of your post - that if we had approached the producers with a more conciliatory attitude, that we’d have a deal offering us a fair residual rate on new media?

Is there anything in the history of our negotiations will the AMPTP which suggests that such a strategy is likely to succeed?

(As rhetorical as that question sounds, I mean it honestly. My understanding of our labor history - which may be incomplete - suggests otherwise, but I’m willing to listen to see if I’m wrong.)

I know you’re fairly conservative, so I’d like to make an analogy. Yes, Verrone has been preparing for war since he took office. He’s said a lot of harsh things, and he’s done his best to mobilize the resources of our guild to be ready, should a confrontation with our enemies become necessary.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like what Ronald Reagan did? Did you, in the 1980s, feel like Reagan wanted war with the Soviets? Did he ever choose to enter a negotiation without being fully prepared to achieve his objectives by other means should negotiations fail?

If you answer those questions the way I think you will, Craig, I have to ask you: why the double standard? Why was Reagan a “strong leader” and Verrone “itching for a fight?”

Craig, don’t leak our strategy. I see you almost did above. Do something decent because you really haven’t yet. Get the information from someone who knows. Don’t leak it in the comments section. That would be real damage to the Guild.

My longer post later.

Ron M, how does a statement from one of our negotiating committee about causing “maximum damaage” not translate into “sticking it to the man”? (Incidentally, that is the intent of a strike and I don’t have a problem with it.)

I haven’t seen anything on Nikki Finke’s site yet that’s conveyed optimism. One of the people I’d spoken to yesterday knows her and said she was hearing some of the not encouraging stuff.

In the words from Gladiator… “The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story! But now, the people want to know how the story ends.”

Just as a followup

Craig, the captains all know the reasoning behind not trying to stop Teamster’s from picking up their trucks. There’s a larger strategy at work, which I’m not willing to explain in detail here, but the short version is that if the Teamsters can’t get on the lots, then IATSE drivers will simply take their trucks, and the Teamsters will be out of work without disrupting production at all.

I think that’s the definition of a “lose-lose” scenario, so our leadership is working with their leadership to avoid it.

Hey, Karen — how do you know what Finke’s posting? I just went on her blog and it says “update, coming up.”

re: Picketing times

This is the first I’ve read that the Teamsters have asked us not to show up at the studios before 9:00 am, but that’s all right. The Guild is going to use “Flying squads” to picket location shoots, something we tried in 1988 without the participation of Local 399.

Here’s how location picketing can work: Those Flying Squads will be at the chosen locations before the trucks arrive. Seeing a picket line, the drivers will avail themselves of their option to honor it, turn around, and drive back to the studios. Every member of the cast and crew which is taken to a location but can’t work there for whatever reason is guaranteed a half day’s pay. Which is not bad recompense for the Teamo’s honoring another union’s picket line. They’ve all done the right thing and taken some of the prodco’s money for it. The strike costs whatever companies’ locations are picketed from Day One.

The goal for WGA is never to make production so costly a picture shuts down entirely, just way more expensive than was planned. Same thinking as why T.E. Lawrence only blew up half a bridge. He didn’t want the Turks to abandon a railway line, but instead to spend so much money on repairs that the expense would disincline them from their occupation. So the Guild would want the Teamos to be able to take trucks out of the studio early in the morning. If we’re not picketing till 9:00, that works for us. What we’ve got to worry about tactically is the studio’s moving the equipment the night before a shoot, so it’s there when the crews arrive in the morning.

In response to just anonymous #22 -

The point of inflicting damage is to convince them to come to the table with a real offer.

Craig seems to be implying that people want to strike not for the sake of getting a better deal, but rather to bloody the studios’ noses as an end to itself.

As I Yankee fan, do you throw in the towel before the game starts?

I know this isn’t a game and I know that you’ve stated your reasons why you’re not optimistic, but, if the AMPTP was as intransigent as it appears, this was going to happen even if you and Ted ran the Guild.

And the middle-class writer is not doing this to stand up to the Man. I don’t understand why you would attack your fellow writers and call them children. You might want to apologize for that. Believe it or not, you’re not the only intelligent guy in the Guild.

As a matter of fact, the middle class writer who is less rewarded, has live with the Man more than the successful writer who is “part” Man. Otherwise, the middle class writer would have no career. You think that the typical dues paying, working writer hasn’t learned how to work within the system. Any writer who carries around risidual anger doesn’t work in this town, period. Surely, you must’ve notices this. When I speak at conferences, I always mention it. If you’re going to get pissed at the system, don’t be a screenwriter. It won’t work.

I know you write quickly and don’t chose your words carefully, so, maybe that attack was not intended, but consider your post again. Maybe, you can amend that.

I have to say, all in all, I’m disappointed with your post, Craig. I know you don’t care, but, I thought you might want to get some understanding of what some of us think when we read you’re blog.

”Ron M, how does a statement from one of our negotiating committee about causing “maximum damaage” not translate into “sticking it to the man”? ”

I take it the ”damaage’ means he was related to the Kennedy’s? No wait, that would be ‘daaamage”

But just for shits and giggles, how does ‘csusing maximum damage’ equate to ‘sticking it to the man’ rather than just being sound tactics in the event of a strike and wanting to make it actually mean something to the other side?

You can play the writer as hippy weirdo all you want. It doesn’t mean it is so.

Craig,

Isn’t it hypocritical of you to ask people to “stay on topic” while going on and on about Joe Torre and the 1978 baseball season from almost thirty years ago? Also, you accuse other WGA members of acting like children but then you post a little boy’s love poem to the Yankees.

causing oooops

I have no doubt that Craig Mazin loves the WGA, but I’ll bet that Andrea Yates loved her kids, too.

“Craig seems to be implying that people want to strike not for the sake of getting a better deal, but rather to bloody the studios noses as an end to itself.”

I’m sure there’s some schandenfreude in there, if that’s what Craig is implying. After all, if a studio isn’t hiring you or hasn’t produced your work that’s been in development… it does feel good to get some payback.

Warped, but true.

I remember a guy during the last strike who kept saying “F**k ‘em” over and over during the big meeting and it turned out his last credit had been on “Lassie.”

Strategy is the aggregate of what one side does in order to change the goals of an opponent. If the other side doesn’t understand your strategy, it won’t be effected by it. You have to make sure your strategy is not only understood, but considered by the other side to be unbeatable.

Again, the example from Strangelove us useful to understand this: If you want to build a “Doomsday machine,” using the strategy of complete death for the planet to deter a nuclear attack, it doesn’t work unless you tell your opponent about it.

What you don’t tell is where you are putting the Doomsday machine, where you’re getting the parts, how the trigger mechanism is programmed, and who the people are making it.

So what you don’t talk about are the details of tactics if you need to use surprise about where you’re putting a picket team.

Strategy and tactics are not synonynms.

Don’t be so defensive, Craig. You are speaking the truth that many of us feel. I have no doubt that our leadership wants what’s best for writers. But due to their inexperience and arrogance, they have blundered us into a strike that, if we’re not careful, can destroy this union.

Hyperbole, you say? If the DGA makes a deal, and they will, and if we don’t take the same deal whether it stinks or not, we will be out until June when the SAG contract comes up. Or at least that’s what our leadership will try and have us do.

It won’t happen. This union will fray. I joined the Guild in 1985 and I saw literal fistfights at our meetings as the strike broke apart.

When people are losing homes and marriages are breaking up, and there is no clear cut “end-game” from leadership, strikes have a way of self-destructing.

Ron M:

I’m good friends with Howard, and he and I think very, very similarly about all of this…and, oh, all sorts of things.

I had no antipathy for Patric that predated his Rise To Power and the subsequent reality organizing disaster.

People Talking About The DGA:

Yes, of course the DGA will attempt to make a deal. But can they? Even that’s a question mark at this point.

Somehow my comment got rolled into the stream at #10, when I just put it on. (at 11:15AM with the adjustment for Daylight Saving Time)

c.f.otto, the situation may be a little more dire than that. If the strike goes into February, the TV season will effectively be crashed. If that happens, I guarantee you the networks will make no deal with the writers until after they have deals in place with the DGA (likely by mid-February) and SAG. It may sound like a mean thing to do, but from their point of view, they won’t have a reason to push for a deal until the next TV season.

Isn’t it hypocritical of you to ask people to “stay on topic” while going on and on about Joe Torre and the 1978 baseball season from almost thirty years ago?

Yeah, I looked it up. It’s called a metaphor. It’s a similar method of making a point by comparing two things not worthy of comparison as “apples” and “oranges.”

Oh wait, I’m off topic.

Respectfully I must point out-

IATSE has no drivers. In fact, with the exception of a few Supervisor positions, our contract strictly forbis us to drive during the work day.

Secondly, we’ve been ‘ordered’ to report to work. If we don’t we can be permanately replaced. A driver may have the individual option of not crossing a line, but his IATSE passengers do not. The driver can of course drop us off, and then do what he/she needs to. We are not his captives. If we do not report to work, we are not eligble for a 1/2 day’s pay, we are not eligible for any pay.

Third, a Driver can be replaced for honoring a picket line. They just have recourse to get their job back if they are, where as we don’t. If anyone has experienced the NLRB, they will know that’s akin to no recourse as well.

Just a heads up - I was working on one of the major lots last week, and there was a constant flow of studio trucks, moving off the lot, empty. I don’t know what that means, although I can surmise.

Here’s what I don’t understand. We have famous powerful showrunning writers on the negotiating committee. Why don’t they lead by example… in their own personal contracts by asking for things the AMPTP says is a deal breaker for the whole guild? What if a showrunner individually negotiates a percentage of internet downloads? It wouldn’t cost too much for just the top guys. It would be a test. And it would be a precedent for the rest of us.

:-)

“Even though we rich guys get pilloried (while our dues fund this entire operation), I’m with my union. Even though we public dissenters get accused of shilling, selling-out, undermining and Disloyalty To The State, I’m with my union.”

Shouldn’t the WGA have an earnings related voting structure?

Craig -

Rumor mill re: today’s talks spinning fast. What are you hearing?

RM

Below the line - You are absolutely right.

And I would add that if only a few individual drivers choose to honor the pickets, the impact will be zero. The studios would fire those drivers and let them appeal it in court. In the meantime, production continues as usual.

But if ALL the drivers honor the lines, you have a very different story.

I also know some IA crew who intend to honor the lines, even at the expense of their own jobs. In a couple of cases, the guys were telling me that they would not enter if they felt they were in danger. Others will simply not violate the moral principle regarding picket lines.

I’ll also add that in my job, I am considered below the line as well, even though the crew considers me to be management.

RM — pls elaborate! C’mon guys in the know —what up!?

“Even though we rich guys get pilloried (while our dues fund this entire operation), “

With all due respect, Craig, it’s not just the dues of RICH GUYS who fund this op, but the dues of all involved, correct?

And one percent of my union minimum gig may not see like much money to you, it’s a lot of dough to me … and many of us at that level risk more than the rich guys do, respecfully.

“The WGA will always suffer more than the companies in a strike.”

But the companies will suffer, too.

And they don’t want to suffer.

At all.

”The WGA will always suffer more than the companies in a strike.”

But the companies will suffer, too.

And they don’t want to suffer.

At all.”

Cue the ‘in 88 it cost them half a billion dollars and they held out so why don’t we just cave now”

Yep, because half a billion dollars then made them tens of billions of dollars since.

This is for the IATSE members who want to honor our lines, and is a personal appeal based on my own experiences with other unions in other strikes at other times. I am not speaking for the Guild, but as an individual with a certain life experience.

Don’t trust anyone who needs you as a martyr. There are people who know you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs who are too pleased by the sounds of shells cracking.

What matters is solidarity. What we rank and file writers need is rank and file people sympathetic to us on the inside. We need the information you can bring out, we need the attitude you show to colleagues, we need our word being spread by credible people like yourself.

You do us no good by being martyrs. You do harm to yourselves, and make solidarity a behavior with too high a cost.

So my personal request is go to work. Be professional. Be precise. If you double checked what you do on a regular working day, triple check today. We need you listening, talking, and working. For the working, very very slowly, but not so slowly as you can be fired for cause. Lead by example on that, please.

And for that, very profoundly, thank you.

Advised,

If the AMPTP starts to suffer they’ll make sure the infection never returns (meaning: if they’re already sick they’ll stay sick until they’re permanently cured). But you’re right, the THREAT of strike has the AMPTP nervous. And the THREAT is a much stronger negotiating tool than an actual strike (at least according to history).

re #39

Here’s another metaphor: Jimmy’s like a guy who didn’t get any love from his parents. Oh wait, is that a simile?

Art, would that apply to DGA ADs as well?

Working AD-

Federal Labor law does offer us the protection of reprisal if we refuse to cross the line due to ‘fearing grave bodily harm’ - again, it’s a long, slow, tedious, and potentially expensive process to deal with the hearings that would ensue at the NLRB, expensive, since I don’t think our locals will be of assistance. Unless there’s reports of violence, implied or otherwise, I think that anyone that refuses to cross will be doing so on moral grounds, which I applaud - intellectually.

I know some TV guys that are somewhat willing not to cross, but the irony is, they won’t have to, they’ve been told their shows are going to go dark. Those of us that work in the feature circles are seeing more work prospects than I can remember in a long time.

I’m active in my local, and have had conversations w/ several supervisors about what they would do if crew didn’t want to cross the line, and for the most part their thought was that unless it was institutional, indviduals not cross wouldn’t amount to much- all those that work the TV shows would be available soon, and finding replacements wouldn’t be hard.

Which is why I still wonder why the WGA has spent the last 3 years “throwing javelins” through Tom Short’s heart, instead of working towads some kind of (even uneasy) detent…

Good luck to all, it’s going to be an interesting, and painful couple of days, weeks, months. I sincerely hope that there is more to the plan than picketing, as recent history shows, it’s just not that effective anymore. The companies have plenty of options- from North Carolina to Canada, New Zealand, Rosarita etc.

Darlene, that was very clever. But seriously, Craig was not off topic because he was comparing how he feels about his Yankees to how he feels about his Union. I think your complaint was a bit petty.

However, as a Yankees HATER (Go Tribe) I am only slightly tolerating the metaphor (or simile?) in the first place, so I eventually might be on your side.

And to all the nervous Nellies like me, we probably need to relax, take a breath, and understand that no news is probably good news, and that it might take a while to be actual news that is conclusive.

And remember, that back channel deals often work because they remain back channel. So don’t ruin it! Lol.

With a no-strike clause, which is really how they keep us all splintered, I can’t afford to miss work. But I will come down on my off days (which will be many) and walk a picket with you. I’ll be there Monday.

Craig -

Is it true that “the rich guys” fund the entire operation?

I don’t know how it works in film, but in TV the income on which guild dues are calculated is capped at around $5100 per week (plus script fees, program fees, etc.). With showrunners making, say, $25,000 - $75,000 an episode (and many much more), their dues are (a) not much higher those of a low-level staff writer and (b) capped at considerably less than 1% of their income. Are there no income caps in film?

RM

i love the zero-sum mentality. has your leadership even thought that if the internet becomes a profitable business model, it would lead to more writers being hired to create content? no these GREEDY corps would never want to sink more money into something that makes them money /sarcasm. im sorry but all i see is the enmity from PAST negotiations that didnt work out in the WGAs favor (atleast in their minds) and they are trying to get it all back in one fell swoop.

So Nikki Finke is stating the John Wells has been brought in.

to Working AD:

I believe that heroes are made by bad generals.

Is that oblique enough to answer when I’m not sure what you’re asking? I’m a “civilian” by choice this time out. I have not volunteered to take any policy-making role for the Guild this time around, though I was on the Strike Committee in 1988, and in one way or other, participated on a street level since my first strike in 1973.

All I have ever asked anyone to do is think out what makes sense for them to do. I am not speaking for the Guild, and hope no one mistakes me for a spokesperson.

And now Nikki Finke is reporting that (wait for it) …

John Wells is being looked at to broker a deal to stave off the strike

Cause that worked so well for the WGA the last time.

RM: No, there is no cap on WGA dues from feature-writing earnings.

Anon BIO,

That’s weird. Kind of smart… for negotiating, but won’t this piss off all the WGA hardliners? I thought John Wells was one of the Bad Guys.

(I actually thought you were kidding and then I checked her site).

Anon I of post #29:

I know this isn’t a game and I know that you’ve stated your reasons why you’re not optimistic, but, if the AMPTP was as intransigent as it appears, this was going to happen even if you and Ted ran the Guild.

The AMPTP’s going to do whatever the AMPTP’s going to do, no matter who is running the Guild.

The issue I have is how the Guild has been run in the lead-up to what shouldn’t have surprised any members as being one of the more important negotaitions in the history of the Guild, and how the Guild prepared specifically for the negotaitions, particluarly in regards to our Pattern of Demands.

The point of a negotiation is neither to avoid a strike or enable a strike. A strike is a tactic available to a union in a negotiation, and whether or not its used, and how effectively it is used, is a matter of overarching strategy.

The first time the overarching negotiating strategy that the WGAw has employed for the last two years became apparent was in the candidates’ statements issued by the WU slate in 2005. Regardless of whether or not I was running for office or serving on the Board, I would have opposed that strategy, and would have continued to oppose that strategy.

Here’s what pisses me off: The AMPTP has employed a better strategy to achieve their ends then we have to achieve our ends. I don’t expect the AMPTP to strategize as to how to best serve the interests of writers, and anyone who does expect that is just insane. But I do expect that of the Writers Guild. And anyone who doesn’t is, likewise, insane.

• Ted

Off-topic to Anonymous Because It’s Offered:

Hey, in a previous thread I think you mentioned that the budget for ‘Burn Notice’ is about a third of the typical network drama budget. I think the typical network drama episodic budge is maybe $3 million- is the ‘Burn Notice’ budget really only $1 million?

Anyway, I’m just curious (and trying to distract myself.)

Wells sounds like the “whispering” Craig was talking about I suppose.

Ted,

I agree with you.

As I posted in the other thread:

” (I still marvel at the way Wells ran for WGA president in 1999 and won even though he was a preeminent TV producer, split the Writer’s Guild into haves and have nots, then failed in 2001 to stand firm on any of the hard issues so as to ensure no strike would interrupt his own productions. As if that weren’t chutzpah enough, shortly after the WGA contract was resolved, Wells quietly informed his West Wing writers that the provisions in their own contracts for increased pay and promotions would not be honored in the 3rd season. The timing made it almost impossible for them to find new jobs.)” — Nikki Finke

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/vote-is-in-for-wga-east-over-90-yes/

And one percent of my union minimum gig may not see like much money to you, it’s a lot of dough to me … and many of us at that level risk more than the rich guys do, respecfully.

Quite true, and thank you for it.

That doesn’t obviate the fact that someone sending in fifty thousand dollars a year in dues is more valuable to the union in a real way than someone sending in five bucks.

Strikes cost money.

Those loans that the Guild will hand out? They come from the rich guys.

The reserves in the Pension & Health plan? They come from the rich guys.

Priya:

Please don’t repeat comments across different threads.

Sorry, thought the other one had kinda died down, so reposted here. That’s not the case. Oops.

Ted -

I diasgree with you.

“The point of a negotiation is neither to avoid a strike or enable a strike. A strike is a tactic available to a union in a negotiation, and whether or not its used, and how effectively it is used, is a matter of overarching strategy.”

In a perfect world, maybe. And only if both sides are truly willing to broker a reasonable deal. Not the case.

Verone’s strategy of “we are going to fucking strike!! - unless you give us a fair deal” has made the strike threat real because it is real!

A real strike gives you leverage - as opposed to a negotiating tactic the other sides snuffs at.

Mike S, I’ll try and find the specifics of what the below the line budget is as that’s what I was talking about.

As the seasons went on, the USA show “Monk” probably wound up costing the same as a network show now since it’s both shot in town and has above the line talent that’s being rewarded for their “success.”

When I heard what an episode of “Psych” currently cost, I was pretty surprised how low it is. It’s done in Canada very, very cheaply.

“Eureka” on Sci Fi might be the cheapest of all, but it truly looks terrible. Barely in focus.

Art, sorry for not being clear.

What I was asking was whether your advice (which I understand to be an individual opinion and not as a spokesperson for anyone other than yourself) regarding IA crew who might martyr themselves by losing their jobs for not crossing the picket lines, would also apply to DGA ADs who also must cross the lines if we are to honor our contract and the “no strike” clause.

I grew up in a union house. I do not cross picket lines as a moral principle. When the grocery workers went on strike, I stopped going to Vons, Safeway, etc, and I haven’t gone back since because the management that engineered that strike is still in power. But in this case, I have a choice between my morality and my career. I can honor one but not the other. I suppose this is what was meant by the idea that life isn’t fair.

And I made the point that ADs are below-the-line crew as well, because some IA crew I’ve worked with think of the ADs as mouthpieces for the producers. And we really aren’t.

The reserves in the Pension & Health plan? They come from the rich guys.

Ha! Spoken like a clueless elitist. A good percentage of the reserves comes from the poor guys who will never vest and never see a dime of the pensions. “Interruption in service” is a wonderful way to subsidize the rich.

Craig,

Claiming financial class in unions is messed up. Focus on the percentage and you won’t feel so put upon. I’m not sure you can complain unless, perhaps, the percentage you pay is dictated by your financial class, like the tiered tax system in Canada (the more money you make, the higher percent you pay).

ABIO: Thanks- seriously, I’d be curious. I know the Burn Notice budged is pretty low, but if it’s that much lower than most network shows (even just in terms of below the line, I think most network shows are at least $2 million) I’d be impressed, and I think its success would be a real beacon for networks trying to figure out how to make scripted shows that are worth the risk.

RM:

Is it true that “the rich guys” fund the entire operation? I don’t know how it works in film, but in TV the income on which guild dues are calculated is capped at around $5100 per week (plus script fees, program fees, etc.). With showrunners making, say, $25,000 - $75,000 an episode (and many much more), their dues are (a) not much higher those of a low-level staff writer and (b) capped at considerably less than 1% of their income. Are there no income caps in film?

Craig is, I think, being intentionally provactive. And, apparently, it worked.

But I will say this:

I pay dues on almost all income I earn from employment with Guild signatories. Theatrical writers, by and large, do not see large portions of their income shunted into producing contracts.

A comparison can be made between the Warner Bros. “Writers Coaliation” deal and the Fox “Writing Partners” deal. The deals are essentially the same, but with on difference:

For the Guild members in the WB deal, the gross point participation is attached to their producing services.

For the Guild members in the Fox deal, at our insistence, the gross point participation is attached to our writing services. Because its our belief that it is a fundamental authorial right that writers should benefit ecomically from all exploitations of a motion picture produced from a screenplay.

And what this means is that the Guild will likewise benefit economically from all exploitations of the “Writing Partners” movies, because those gross points are duesable.

That was not a decision we had to make, it was not a term that was forced on us by Fox (actually, it was just the opposite), and it was not a requirement of the MBA, either. And, you know, maybe others would consider it a stupid decision. We didn’t; we considered it a principled decision.

So its not so much that “rich guys” like Craig fund the whole operations; it’s that each member funds the operation as a percentage of the duesable income he/she earns under Guild jurisdiction. But when you’re talking individual members, its generally the case that individual members whose income is earned in theatrical pay a greater amount in dues then indiviudal members whose income is earned in television.

• Ted

Ted

“But when you’re talking individual members, its generally the case that individual members whose income is earned in theatrical pay a greater amount in dues then indiviudal members whose income is earned in television.”

Which is, of course, entirely irrelevant, since there are WAY more TV writers than feature writers, whose combined dues, I suspect, add up to a significant amount, likely more than ours.

It’s alright. Craig learned economics from Rush Limbaugh.

Knows The Truth:

Vesting is irrelevant to health care.

I think you qualify for health coverage if you earn 30K in a year as a writer.

BUT…I believe the actual cost of the coverage to the Plan is something like the contributions that come from 80K a year.

Which means the rich folks who earn more than 80K a year, up to the limit, are subsidizing everyone who earns less.

You can hate the rich folks all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’re paying for this union. The last time I checked with staff, they told me that the top 5% earners contributed something like 75% of the dues.

Furthermore, the rich guys’ contributions to Pension certainly outweigh the entire collection of contributions from the unvested. There are guys who max out on Pension contributions year after year for twenty years.

So let’s not hate on them.

They’re footing the bill.

advised to remain anon:

Verone’s strategy of “we are going to fucking strike!! - unless you give us a fair deal” has made the strike threat real because it is real!

Not the overarching strategy of which I was speaking, and public threats of a strike is not the same as a union’s strike threat. A union’s strike threat is the potential cost to the employer of the absence of the union workforce … and that always exists, and is always real, whether you run around firing guns in the air and yelling “Wahho! We’re a fixin’ to strike!” or not.

(And, a note, necessary ‘cause of the times in which we live: that last was hyperbole. As far as I know, Patric does not even own guns).

• Ted

Allright. You just lost me. We are now talking about who the most important to the guild are by how much they make. See ya.

Craig and Ted have done a great service with this board and by not censoring its contents, including people leveling personal criticisms their way.

Without “The Artful Writer” people would be in the dark, have no place to blow off steam or ask questions and educate themselves about the issues.

The idiocy of the “Let’s Put On A You Tube Show” over at Writer Action underscored how ridiculous WGA members can sound when they’re not exposed to concerns of the plebians they inadvertently mock. That lampoon showing screenwriters working minimum wage jobs was the height of elitist behavior, not any opinion expressed by Craig.

May the baristas spit in those people’s lattes.

Ted,

The amount is greater, but is also irrelevant because the WGA’s dues work on a fixed percentage. Financial class doesn’t change that percentage. Or am I wrong?

Re: #85: I thought the source of humor for the Youtube video was the assertion that writers don’t know anything except writing and they would be hopelessly inept at any other job, including minimum wage jobs. I didn’t see it as a slam against those who hold such jobs, but as with anything in this society, everyone’s going to see what they want to see.

And regarding the other posts voicing fears that Wells will “sellout” the writers like he did in 2001 — I think the big difference now is that TV writers have much more at stake than they did (or thought they did) back in 2001 …

Craig, as the WGA man you say your are, please resist discussing picketing strategies in a open forum. Any information of that kind was said during a union meeting in confidence. It’s appalling that strike captains are sharing it with those who weren’t in attendance. THINK, PEOPLE.

Go Red Sox! ;)

“That doesn’t obviate the fact that someone sending in fifty thousand dollars a year in dues is more valuable to the union in a real way than someone sending in five bucks.”

All members are important, though, aren’t they Craig - you seem to be making the argument that because you make more money that the average writer, you should get more consideration … doesn’t that sort of undermine the whole idea of a union to begin with?

Granted, a guy making a million a year and paying hundred grand in dues (and yes, I know you make more than that a year) is a good person to have on your team …

But just as valuable are all the guys making fifty to a hundred grand a year … they’re are more of writers doing that than there are making millions - and the dues the average-income writers pay all add up to a fee greater than the contributions of you or any one person, isn’t that true?

So respectfully again … members all pay the same percentage, irregardless of their income, if I read the application correctly, but so what that you have to pay a greater amount in dues than most writers in the union?

It’s a problem I wish I had and, once this strike is over, believe I will have at some point.

Either way, with respect your response still doesn’t negate the argument that ALL members are paying for the strike, not just the rich ones.

We cross-posted, and I saw your post where the union staff informed you that the top five percent earners subsidize the bennies for everyone else.

Interestly information - is it public, can I get those numbers from the wga site … not being a smartie, I’m really interested …

ABIO — Not to malign Craig’s blog, but I think it’s pretty fucked that you think that this is the only source of information on the net. This blog is largely one man’s opinion. There are other perspectives out there and I would encourage people to do some comprehensive reading at amptp.org, wga.org and unitedhollywood.com. I doubt that even Craig wants the burden of being people’s sole influence. And, this just in… he’s wrong about some stuff.

”That doesn’t obviate the fact that someone sending in fifty thousand dollars a year in dues is more valuable to the union in a real way than someone sending in five bucks”

Maybe that’s true to a point, in your view, but the 1000 people sending in a hundred bucks a year are more valuable in a grass roots sense.

LB, I don’t think this is the only source of information. I consider it a more user friendly and fun place to discuss what’s at stake. I look at the other sites and frequently reference them here and was the one to first post Counter’s last statement for all to see. This is a public forum that’s high profile without much censorship.

And, I find it personally entertaining. Anything wrong with that?

Anonymous of 81:

Which is, of course, entirely irrelevant, since there are WAY more TV writers than feature writers, whose combined dues, I suspect, add up to a significant amount, likely more than ours.

Actually, how is that relevant to the point that, when we’re talking about individual members, its generally the case that individual members whose income is earned in theatrical pay a greater amount in dues then indiviudal members whose income is earned in television?

Really, I expected someone to point to specific indidual members who have lots of television credits as means of argument, ‘cause that would have at least been vaguely on-point. But to try to brush aside the entire point as “irrelevant” and then make a completely different argument? Sure, that’s typical of message board discourse, but I expect better from writers.

At least you didn’t make a Hilter/Nazi/Holocaust analogy.

• Ted

Joshua, whatever you do, don’t use the word Irregardless.

Anon BIO 85,

Yes. I think you nailed it on the head. It made me feel ashamed of where I came from and made me fear where I was going. Because I am willing to sling coffee if that means we get what we deserve. That video made me wonder if the rest of the union was willing to do the same thing…

I personally believe that the arguments back and forth on who contributes what and who subsidizes who are counterproductive. Of course higher earners will be paying in larger sums than lower earners. But that shouldn’t make anyone more important than anyone else. The fact that higher earners are in the position to contribute higher sums is partly because past Guild fights helped them to be in a position to earn that amount. And maybe a few years down the road people who earn a lot won’t be earning quite so much, which is very much the nature of the biz as well. So infighting based on who contributes how much just seems counterproductive to me, and especially right now seems to play straight into the hands of the AMPTP.

Without “The Artful Writer” people would be in the dark

Ha! Guess you don’t get around much. This site is all well and good, but it ain’t the only game in town.

So, just out of pure interest (and because the fan forums are buzzing about the strike news) any word yet on the “whisperings”, Craig?

Personally, I’m hoping they found that magic number between .3 and 2.5%. I know it exhists, I didn’t fail math for nothing!grin

Also, from out POV out here in side-line land, I don’t know what variety of crack the AMPTP is smokeing, thinking that the viewers are just going to bend over and take a ass-load of new Reality TV shows instead of our scripted TV in the spring season. God help us all of the strike lasts long enough to screw up the TV menu, ( and I’m hoping the WGA gets, if not EVERYTHING they want, at least more than they had) but I think a long strike is really going to resound badly with the viewing population.

The numbers for even the Cash-cow shows are down this season.

I know no one cares about the viewer’s opinons (Especially the AMPTP “Man”) - but from the polls that I am seeing, and the numbers in the ratings…if they think they can wait this strike out with news programs and Reality crap, they’re going to be in for a shock.

We’ll just do like we did before, turn off the tube and find something better to do. I’d like to see the AMPTP explain that to their advertisers.

SML, your post redeemed yourself in my eyes from all the ones you wrote while grappling with your crippling OCD.

With members claiming they want to sway public opinion in their direction and involve other unions, how stupid is it to degrade occupations not far removed from craft service and grips?

I did laugh at the writer of “Deauce Biglow” working as a prostitute, but that credit already established him as a whore.

There’s a reality to who earns what and their pecking order in a union. You think if Ridley Scott’s dues get lost in the mail, the DGA wouldn’t make a friendly call about it?

Folks, I’m in no way saying that rich writers or high-earning writers should get MORE consideration.

Christ.

I’m saying “Stop shitting on rich writers as if they’re the problem, because without them, this union would be screwed.”

In other words, let’s end the class warfare talk, okay?

Hello there:

Well, it seems as though the meetings are ongoing, and the doublecrosses and triplecrosses have been brought forward already to each side of the dispute. As I have stated, the deal has been made; and now we know that the adults who know what the hell is coming for our social and political futures have finalized the deal reached. I am not suprised that John Wells has put his stamp of approval on this deal on behalf of the WGA.

We can only imagine the emotions being given forth in this meeting, yet it can be assumed that it goes the following pattern:

1. Anger
2. Denial
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

For those not aware, this is shortform from Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five motions of accepting death. In this case, the strike is dead, the optimal deal each side wanted is dead, the sense of autonomy from our leaders and financiers is dead, and the situation of an intact Los Angeles is about to die from those false-flag ideals I wrote about.

Most importantly, the ideal that this can be settled between two different factions not seeing beyond their immovable finances is dead; this is because of the fact that the warmongers came in, and were always going to come into this dispute. Expect an announcement of this already fianlized for months deal to be made public immediately before the destruction of Los Angeles commences, just to soften up the amount of blame for public consumption will be limited. The tradeoff, of course, will be to promote war, destruction, capitalism run amok, and perhaps a new drafting of “Why We Fight” pieces for the coming Third World War. This could have been settled earlier, yet the sides chose willingly to be pawns in this game of Global Thermo-Nuclear War to come.

Let us hope these sides and their families, and all our families, can at least have a peaceful Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan/etc. That is if we make it that far. As Mel Brooks wrote in “The Twelve Chairs”, “Hope for the best; expect the worst.”

In peace for all of us,

Lax24

I just got the mass email sent by Patric Verrone which makes no mention of today’s negotiations, just that picket duties start tomorrow:

“Pickets will be the most visible and effective part of the strike in the next few weeks. They make us visible in a way that is outside the AMPTP’s control. They deter and often prevent scabs from taking our jobs. They disrupt production, especially when members of other unions honor our line. But most importantly, a large turnout of pickets demonstrates visibly and irrefutably to the AMPTP that we are serious about getting a substantive, fair deal.”

As Craig astutely pointed out: I’m not in the guild. So my opinion probably doesn’t matter.

But, if there is a strike (I still hold out hope that there won’t be), I’ll support the writers in any way I can. A lot of people feel this way.

Like dollygrip.

Except… you just lost dollygrip to a pissing contest about who’s paying for this union. Does his opinion count, even though he’s not a guild member? Perhaps not, since no one really noticed his disgust.

Which is a shame.

Ted 94,

This is why you’re a pain in the butt.

You look at Craig as if he’s making a factual, black and white statement. And if you focus on his words, he is, but you’re forgetting the context.

One could assume that Craig was attempting to defend his right to dissent by saying, “I’m rich, I pay for that right.”

But it’s the wrong argument to make.

Craig has the right to dissent because he’s an equal member of the union, not because it’s a fact he’s financially superior and pays more in dues.

“This site is all well and good, but it ain’t the only game in town.”

That’s true, but I notice some of the comments here made it into Newsweek. That says something.

The posts from a guy named Zwang over at Writer Action were enough to keep me away. A bunch of lame Viagra jokes at a time like this?

Okay, I’ve got the message:

Don’t bother posting anything longer than two sentences, ‘cause most people are going to read only the first and last sentence, anyway.

• Ted

Craig,

“Stop shitting on rich writers as if they’re the problem, because without them, this union would be screwed.”

That’s true and without the middle and lower classes the union would be equally screwed.

And class was not an issue until you said “Rich.”

Craig,

Right, SML said it first and I concur with what he said, you did say YOU were paying for the strike originally, but again, I appreciate your feedback and will be happy to consider the topic closed.

Kevin -

What can I say? Being a dad has mellowed me some (as I’m sure is coming across) but when it comes to words, I’m often still a rebel, heh.

Working AD wrote: “….But in this case, I have a choice between my morality and my career. I can honor one but not the other….”

Okay, as an individual member of the union with which you’re showing solidarity, I don’t want you to risk your job. But it’s not a binary choice - cross a picket line and betray your ideals or be true to yourself and lose your job. Management wants you to see it that way. I want you to do what you can for us — “us” being everyone in every union who understands that solidarity is our best defense of all our standards of livings — any way that’s effective. For myself, I’d want you inside, drawing your pay, and using the tactics of a slowdown as carefully as you can. You inside doing that every day of a strike and talking up solidarity is a whole hell of a lot more effective gesture of solidarity than getting fired. Your voice won’t be heard after that, and your replacement will probably be chosen because she or he does not understand solidarity.

Oh Ted…

The internet blog is a wondrous place. You come, you write, you’re ignored, you’re personally mocked, you’re threatened, if you’re complimented it’s usually backhanded, and, finally, you’re called anonymously by people who live in Cupertino, California while they breath heavy into the other end of the phone (whoever you are I’m going to get you). But that’s the life we’ve chosen to lead. Chin up.

I agree with the poster way up near the top who pointed out that Craig seems to have had a bug up his ass about Verrone from Day One. There has been a consistent lens through which he has portrayed the leadership, but it’s time to step back and look at this leadership’s successes and failures and evaluate them as the battle is joined.

Under the prior leadership — and we all know who I’m talking about here — there was never the slightest possibility of a strike. So the AMPTP never had to take a single one of our “demands” seriously. The only saber rattling was over the funding of the health plan, which was such a moral imperative that even the studios had to do something. And even that was in their own self-interest, because if our health plan fails, then the studios would be forced to provide health care to each individual writer while he/she is under contract, which is very bad business.

From the very beginning, this leadership has taken a very different tack. Verrone has allowed people like Craig to paint him as crazy, hell-bent to strike. To misunderestimate him, if you will. But if you look at all his public statements, they have been a very savvy message to the entire community: “I’m not John Wells!”

Everyone harps on about the failed reality strike. It is seen as proof that Verrone has his priorities screwed up. I believe it was a TEST — a war game, if you will — to see what would happen and learn from the mistakes made and see how the companies would counter it. The reality strike could afford to fail because it would not take the entire Guild down with it. This strike cannot affford to fail. A smart general does not go into battle without testing his weapons first. And I believe that Verrone and Bowman et. al. are pretty damn smart.

Do you think JW could have gotten 3,000 writers in the same room at the same time? That was not some lucky, spontaneous moment. That meeting has been prepared for since at least a year ago. Hell, they even made parking easy.

And yet Craig continues to cling to the Verrone is off his nut presumption. A few postings ago he claimed that the AMPTP taking that buttfuck proposal off the table was code for “Wanna negotiate?” But he was wrong again, wasn’t he? Because that move didn’t mean shit. Thank God Bowman and Verrone weren’t fooled. Sure, we wouldn’t have a strike right now. But then again, we wouldn’t have anything else, either.

Let’s look at the October Surprise. The leadership has known all along what the AMPTP strategy would be, and they suckered them into believing that we would hook up with SAG next June. So all their “stockpiling” was geared toward that time, not now. Suddenly, Nick Counter isn’t sure what’s coming next. And I can only imagine some of the phone calls he’s been getting from major players at the companies.

Does this mean we will “win?” I have no idea. And neither does anyone else. But the notion that no one can win a strike is absurd. If we collapse, then the companies surely win. But if we can make a decent deal out of this, then we will have won. The last major strike that I can think of in this country was the UPS strike ten years ago. And guess who won that one?

Priya:

I didn’t know you weren’t in the Guild. I was talking about Nikki Finke.

As far as dolly grips go, all I know is that my dolly grip (Chris) kicks ass. And I love him.

You know…in a totally straight way.

Sox Fan:

First off, congrats.

As for your recollection of “the last major strike,” I’d direct your attention to the grocery workers strike.

Which failed miserably.

To Everyone:

Stop thinking that Nick Counter is surprised by things, or makes decisions on his own that the companies get angry about. Nick Counter can’t pee without checking with his bosses first, okay? He’s an employee. This isn’t about Nick Counter.

It’s about the heads of the congloms. It’s about Murdoch, Moonves, Redstone, etc.

With all due respect, Craig, the grocery workers don’t make the food.

As for John Wells being in the room, well at least Nick Counter will have a friend in there.

I’m well aware of Counter’s position vis a vis his bosses. But I’m equally aware that he has assured them that Verrone is crazy, that we’re not ready for a strike, etc. But what we’re seeing now is that we are as ready for a strike as we can possibly be. And the other side is not.

Will that be enough? God, I hope so. I’ll be doing my part on the picket line tomorrow. Because the script ain’t been written yet.

I’m a Cubs fan myself and on the WGA team…

Just like the Cubs we have no where to go but higher in the rankings.

Let’s make this happen!

Thanks for your words Craig. The depth of your passion more than makes up for your fatal “Yankee Fan” flaw.

I’m a Canadian member of both the WGA and Writers Guild of Canada and hope everybody in WGAE and WGAW know how firmly behind you we are in this.

If there’s any way we can help, anything you need done, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I’m new to this blog, and don’t even know its author’s name. I love the prison riot analogy, it’s very astute and poignant.

Having followed the news of the strike, including blogs, I’m getting the sense that some writers are living under the illusion that a strike will finally rearrange the molecular structure of an age-old, frustrating process for writers: studios treating writers like shit.

But it won’t. How could it? Alas, we live in an extraordinarily capitalistic society. Commerce has beaten art so badly I’m not so sure Art is bothering to show up to the stadium anymore.

If any Hollywood writers truly want respect, become a novelist. I dare you. Chances are, after your first advance, you’ll be WISHING you got a fifth of what you used to make as a screenwriter.