The WGA Letter That Should Have Been...

Yesterday, Patric Verrone put out a letter to the WGA membership advising them that he has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.  He continued slinging mud at the AMPTP, which, though we share his disdain for the AMPTP, gets us nowhere.

Here's the release I would have preferred to see:

December 13, 2007

To My Fellow Members:

As you know the AMPTP walked out of negotiations within hours of requesting the unilateral removal of several provisions of our contract. We were in the middle of preparing a counter-proposal that would have addressed most of their concerns, but we were not and are not prepared to remove items from our proposal merely in exchange for the privilege of negotiating.

As we have repeatedly said, however, we remain committed to negotiating and we wish to resolve the strike as soon as possible.

To that end, earlier today we delivered to Mediator Bryan Lourd our latest proposal with instructions that he deliver it to the AMPTP Negotiating Committee.

While we prefer not to negotiate the details of our contract in public, I wish to assure you that this proposal addresses each of the AMPTP's demands individually and separately, and does so in a manner that is fair to both sides.

We believe that our latest proposal, which also includes revised numbers to the new media payment schedule proposed by the AMPTP, continues to address the goals which are most important to our Membership, while allowing the AMPTP financial feasibility and maneuverability in this exciting, but constantly changing, new world.

It is our sincere hope that the AMPTP will resume negotiations immediately, as we continue to work towards a strike resolution which could see all of Hollywood returning to work in the New Year.

Again, we prefer to keep the details of this proposal between the two Negotiating Committees for the time being, but rest assured that the full proposal will be immediately available to you should leaks about individual elements of the proposal suddenly start appearing on the internet or the press.

In the meantime, I urge everyone to continue to stay strong and unified. We will get a great contract at the end of this difficult time.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGA West

Now THAT would have been nice...

DGA To The Rescue!

Looks like DGA has had enough with the WGA flailing about.

This is the letter sent by the DGA to members of the WGA who had written letters to the Directors asking them -- against all reason -- not to start their negotiations.

Dear Member,
We didn't want to let too much time go by before we answered your letter. We want you to know this response comes from our heartfelt understanding of the difficult times we are all in together.

The DGA Negotiations Committee had its fourth meeting yesterday and we discussed your letter. We mention this so you will understand that this response reflects the very open discussion we had with your fellow Guild members.

To begin with, we understand the importance of new media and its potential impact on all our futures -- and on those who follow us. DGA has spent close to 18 months developing research, meeting with outside experts, and talking to our members about these issues. They have been discussed by the Board and the Negotiations Committee for well over a year.

We understand well the importance of protecting our members. We will not rest until our members get a fair and equitable deal for the work they create in both old and new media. Since its founding, the Guild has consistently fought hard for that goal. For more than 70 years we have managed, often without fanfare, to negotiate good deals for all of us and we are proud of the strength of our Basic Agreement. We have no intention of letting our members down or betraying the rights of the directors who went before us. There is a reason that few in the industry ever accuse the DGA or its members of being pushovers. We've never been that and we don't plan to start now.

This issue is not between the DGA and the WGA. To make that the fight only strengthens the other side. But sharing a goal is not the same as sharing tactics and strategy. And our differing views of the best way to achieve our goals may lead us to act differently. Traditionally our negotiations start early and usually are done by January. This has been our pattern for the past 20 years for a very simple reason: We believe -- and our experience shows -- that this is the most effective way to negotiate the best deal. The WGA has made a different decision on how to handle their negotiations. Out of respect for them, we have done what you asked for in your letter -- we have refrained from commencing our own negotiations. And, at the same time we have refrained from commenting publicly on our thoughts about the direction of their proposals and the progress of their negotiations.

But the reality is that WGA and the AMPTP have been meeting since July -- and, despite a strike that has put tens of thousands of people out of work, they seem nowhere near reaching a deal. Each passing day, more people are unemployed. We are getting calls from members who are worried about their economic livelihood and their families. We're sure you feel the same concern for yourselves and the people who work for you.

Because so much time has gone by without any resolution, we find ourselves faced with some hard questions. Is a fresh perspective -- and additional muscle -- needed to get the job done? Is it our turn to sit across the table from the AMPTP? What we know is that we cannot abdicate our responsibility to our members by putting their fate in the hands of another union whose tactics and strategy we have not been able to influence. Our members expect the Guild to fight for them when things get tough. We promised all of you we would do that in our most recent membership letter. We believe this is the essence of responsible unionism, which is the least you and all our members have a right to expect from us.

Sincerely,

Michael Apted
DGA President

Gil Cates
Chair, DGA Negotiations Committee

Jay D. Roth
DGA National Executive Director

DGA, SAG Need To Step Up Now

For some reason, the solidarity-seeking WGA is trying to stall the DGA in its negotiations with the AMPTP.  WGA seems to believe that DGA would make a simpler deal than WGA.  WGA fears that if this were to happen, somehow their hand would be forced and they would, too, have to sign what they view as an unfair deal.

I've requested more information on the WGA's stance in this case, but have not yet received it.  UPDATE - the reasoning seems to be that if DGA enter talks, AMTP will ignore WGA until those talks are complete.  As the basis of my argument is that this is exactly what is already happening, I still encourage the DGA to step to the table immediately.

At any rate, it is clear now, as it was before the Writers walked, that the AMPTP will not give the Writers anything significant in their current negotiations, unless and until the Studios know what deal they will have to make with DGA and SAG.

It is therefore imperative that SAG and DGA come to the bargaining table NOW, if there is to be any hope of this Strike ending soon.

As regular readers of this blog know, it is our belief that the strongest move and the shortest strike would have occurred if the WGA had waited until the SAG contract expired in an effort to have a "prefect storm strike."  

Through the preemptive hubris of WGA leadership, this is no longer an option.

Our best bet now, then, is to bring the effects of the "perfect storm" to the present and get all sides to the bargaining table.

We would love to see WGA, DGA, and SAG sit together in negotiating sessions, which would bring some needed bargaining skills to the table, as well as eliminate the uncertainty which clouds the AMPTP dealings with WGA and bring true strength in numbers to the labor side of the contracts.

Barring that ideal, DGA and SAG should still immediately commence negotiations in an effort to avoid a strike by their unions, and finally bring about an end to the present one.