Writers Approve The Contract

My time has been completely zapped in the couple of weeks since the Writers went back to work.  In that time, however, the contract was officially ratified, meaning the hardliners will have to wait for at least three years before plunging us all back into financial disaster.

But they needn't fret -- SAG lurks on the horizon.

The general feeling seems to be that SAG won't strike, but it obviously remains a very real possibility.

I haven't had a chance to write up my post-mortem on the Strike itself, and this remains something I look forward to doing (so check back!).  In brief, though, I -- like so many others -- believe that the Writers contract was achievable without going on strike.  And if not entirely so, then at least close enough that the costs of the strike far outweigh the modest improvements that the strike actually earned.  

Indeed, a negotiation which hadn't gone nuclear might have resulted in an even better contract -- think of the affordability of a $2000/yr internet residual if the Studios didn't have strike losses to recoup.

Now that the Strike is over however, I will assume that my writers are part of the 93% who voted to end the catastrophe.  I'm happy that we're all back to work (or getting there).

IT'S OVER!!

The Writers have overwhelmingly voted to return to work.  The Strike is over!!

Writers return to work tomorrow.  Cast and Crew should be right behind them.

Fingers crossed that SAG starts talks really soon.  (Like, tomorrow would be good).

I'll post my wrap up of the Strike this weekend.  In the meantime, I welcome everyone's comments -- good, bad, otherwise.

Best of luck to everyone.  Let's hope the rest of the year is busy for all.

It's Over! (Soon)

By all accounts, the WGA meetings went very well yesterday.  

The Guild Leadership changed their minds about lifting the Strike today, however, swayed by some prominent Writers (and United Hollywood admins) who felt that the Membership would feel better if they got to vote before the Strike was lifted.

As I said on UH yesterday, when this idea was floated out there, I agree with this in principle, but only if it seems the vote might be close.  If the vote was going to be a slam dunk, I argued, then all the Guild would be doing is delaying people's misery by an extra two days, just so the Writers could have a nice little feel-good moment.

The Deal is going to pass overwhelmingly.

But the Writers still want their feel-good moment.  So the rest of the town will suffer for an extra couple of days.  But at least the pain will be blunted by the fact that the light at the end of the tunnel is actually sunshine, and not a train...

It should also be worth noting that not lifting the Strike until after a vote is technically a violation of the conditions of the Deal.  Now, I don't expect a 48-hour vote (as opposed to a 10-day vote) to derail anything -- the Studios aren't THAT crazy -- but it's worth noting nonetheless.

Finally, before anyone goes out and makes some big celebratory purchases, it's important to understand that SAG's contract expiration still looms large on the horizon.

Most people feel secure that SAG will successfully pattern their deal off of the WGA deal, but their stance in this whole affair has grown increasingly militant.  The industry is definitely going to want to take their pulse before greenlighting projects that extend past June 30.

Pessimism aside, the fact that the Writers have finally got their contract is great news for all of Hollywood and great news for the Writers.  When all is said and done, the strike will have been 100 days, and they will have a contract that gives them the most important thing: jurisdiction over new media.

And it's going to pass the vote.

Whenever hope sprang up in the negotiations, my constant refrain was "cross your fingers, but don't hold your breath."  Now it's time to hold your breath... we're almost done.

I would especially urge any non-writers who are critical of the deal (or the path to it) to stay silent for a couple of days.  If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.  Don't put anything out there that could potentially derail the Deal (and thereby continue the Strike) until after it is signed.

There will be plenty of time for a Strike post-mortem AFTER the Strike is over.

That should be right around Wednesday!

Is That The Finish Line I See?

It came down to the last hour, but the deal language got resolved, and the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.

The deal will be discussed in general assembly meetings in both NY and LA.

The board will decide tomorrow (Sunday) whether to lift the Strike or continue, based primarily on their belief that the deal will or will not be ratified by the Membership.

The deal points can be read here.

The biggest problem this contract faces is Hard-Liners' hatred of the 17-day promotional window for streaming reuse.  My guess is that, though truly hated, this provision will not be enough to derail the deal.

The argument will be "do we really want to strike for another 4 months just to get that down to 10 days?  Let SAG be the bad guys now -- see if they can get it."

Fingers are crossed.  This should be a deal good enough (especially with Verrone and Young's endorsement) to get the Strike lifted tomorrow.

Writers will be back to work on Monday.  Crews should be back days later.

The Moment (err... Weekend) Of Truth

On Saturday, the WGA will present the new proposal to the general membership at meetings on both coasts (assuming the legalese is properly worked out by midnight tonight -- which is not a foregone conclusion).

Strike Captains were shown the proposal today and, per an article on United Hollywood, this is the state of affairs:

Patric Verrone, Michael Winship, David Young, and John Bowman are all recommending the deal. They think it’s a good one – not perfect – but a good solid deal that we would never have gotten if we hadn’t have gone out on strike. They believe we got every last penny on the table. 

The negotiating team will go over the proposal, point by point, with the Membership.

If a majority of the assembly seems happy with the Terms of Agreement, and will likely ratify it – the greater board will take this into consideration when they meet on Sunday. Then, on Sunday they will vote on whether or not to lift the strike, and send everyone back to work on Monday. They will only vote to lift it if they feel that the majority of membership likes the deal and will ratify it. If that's the case – we go back to work on Monday.

It is now up to the Writers.  If the Hard-Liners sway enough people, the Strike will continue until at least June 30.  If the moderates prevail, the Strike That Never Should Have Been will finally be over.

The most important thing right now is for 1) the lawyers to finish up by midnight and 2) for all those Writers who swore by Verrone and Young at the beginning to be true to their words now.  Even if you aren't crazy with the deal, you have to trust your leadership.  Believe it or not, they may actually have a better understanding of how the negotiations have been going than you do.

Hopefully, clear minds and level heads will rule the day.

And then everyone else can get back to work.  Finally.

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Note: I have edited this post to remove a line about Verrone and Young which, though I still stand behind it, I felt was distracting from the point at hand and was looking at a possible outcome which I do not feel is likely.

WGA To Present Terms Of A Deal This Weekend

The WGA is going to present terms of a deal to the Membership on Saturday.  

This really could be "it"....

From Verrone and Winship, in the latest official WGA email to members:

As Negotiating Committee Chair John Bowman wrote you last night, we are continuing to negotiate the terms of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We anticipate that we will be able to present the terms of that agreement to you in the next few days.

While the Los Angeles meeting will be at 7:00pm on Saturday, the New York Meeting will be at 2:00pm local time.  Which means we will likely have word about the terms of the deal by noon on the West Coast.

It has been reported that, as part of the negotiations, the WGA will call off the Strike when the NegCom agrees in principal with the deal, as opposed to after an official Membership vote.

This means that, if things go well, Friday may be the last day of the Strike.  Cross your fingers, but don't count your chickens...

I have heard from several sources that production for most shows in the 2007-08 season will resume within a couple weeks of the Strike's end.  I've heard most shows will be looking to do anywhere from 5-8 episodes to finish out a truncated season.  It is likely, however, that some shows will not return this year.

For shows that do return, it is likley that SitComs will start shooting about 2 weeks after the end of the Strike and Dramas will take a week longer to start shooting.  Each show is unique, however, and some will take longer to get back up to speed.

Best of luck to everyone, and may cooler heads prevail.

Call For Posts

I am humbled and grateful that so many people have found this site and use it for real debate of the issues around the Strike.

I hate to be hogging all the front page space.

If anyone would like to post an article on the front page, please let me know at unite(at)dividedhollywood(dot)com.  [The (at) and (dot) are to prevent autospammers].

This offer is open to anyone, no matter what their stance on the Strike.

Depending on interest, I may give some people access to post directly.  Otherwise, I might post on their behalf.  I won't edit anything without your permission.  If I decide not to post an article, I'll do my best to make my reasons clear.

As always, the comments section remains unmoderated.