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== Criticism of the WGA ==
== Criticism of the WGA ==
===AMPTP's official stance===
===AMPTP's official stance===
The [[AMPTP]] claims that though they are in support of writers should in fact be compensated for their work in new media, and have already "put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads," but that the "theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured [that fact]." <ref>[http://www.amptp.org/ News Article on main page]</ref>
Nick Counter, in an [[op-ed]] published in the [[Los Angeles Times]], wrote, "Producers in Hollywood absolutely believe that writers should be compensated for their work in new media", and have already "put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads", but that the "theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured [that fact]."


The [[AMPTP]] goes on to claim that the writers are demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue from ad-supported streaming videos, but that the producers with whom the WGA's contracts are with do not receive any of said revenue (this money goes to the networks).
Counter further claimed that the writers are demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue from ad-supported streaming videos, but that producers, with whom the WGA holds contracts, do not receive any of this revenue, which goes to the networks.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-counter17nov17,1,3583025.story "Cut the theatrics, writers"], ''Los Angeles Times'', editorial by Nick Counter, 17 November 2007.</ref>


===Statement from Disney===
===Statement from Disney===
[[Disney]] has issued a response to a flyer handed out by the WGA that states, "Here's the current arrangement writers have with Disney and other companies: Disney revenue from digital: $1.5 billion. Writer’s share: $0." Disney claims that this is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the WGA's leadership, as the majority of that revenue came from sales of Disney travel packages and merchandise online.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/business/media/15unions.html "Leaders of Two Striking Entertainment Unions Clash"], ''New York Times'', 15 November 2007.</ref>
A flyer handed out by the WGA states:

“Here’s the current arrangement writers have with Disney and other companies: Disney revenue from digital: $1.5 billion. Writer’s share: $0.”

[[Disney]] has stated that this is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the WGA's leadership, as the majority of that revenue came from sales of Disney travel packages and merchandise online.<ref>[http://www.amptp.org/news/nyt111507.html Disney claims the WGA is lying]</ref>


==Related work stoppages==
==Related work stoppages==

Revision as of 06:16, 30 November 2007

Striking writers and supporters raise signs at a WGAW rally in Los Angeles
Writer-actor Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm (foreground, right) and others at a WGAW rally outside the Fox Studios in Los Angeles

The 2007 Writers Guild of America strike is a strike by both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) that started on November 5, 2007.[1] The WGAE and WGAW are two labor unions that represent film, television and radio writers working in the United States.

The strike is against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a trade organization that represents the interests of American film and television producers. Over 12,000 writers are affected by the strike.[2]

The Writers Guild has indicated their industrial action would be a "marathon." AMPTP negotiator Nick Counter has indicated that negotiations would not resume as long as strike action continues, stating, "We're not going to negotiate with a gun to our heads—that's just stupid."[3]

After a three-week period of no negotiations between the parties, talks resumed on November 26, 2007 at an undisclosed location and as of November 28 are still in progress.[4] The media blackout that began on November 26, 2007 was ended by the WGA due to the rollback offered by the AMPTP on November 29, 2007. [5]


The last such strike was the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike; it lasted 22 weeks, costing the American entertainment industry an estimated 500 million dollars.[6]

Issues in the strike

Every three years, the Writers Guilds negotiate a new basic contract with the AMPTP by which its members are employed. This contract is called the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA).[7] In the 2007 negotiations over the MBA, an impasse was reached, and the WGA membership voted to give its board authorization to call a strike, which it did on Friday, November 2, with the strike beginning the subsequent Monday, November 5, 2007.

Among the many proposals from both sides regarding the new contract, there are several key issues of contention including DVD residuals, union jurisdiction over animation and reality programs, and perhaps most importantly, "new media", such as the Internet.

DVD residuals

Background

s

We are ready to meet at any time and remain committed to reaching a fair and reasonable deal that keeps the industry working, but the DVD issue is a roadblock to these negotiations.

AMPTP president Nick Counter[8]

Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction, has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable.

WGA Negotiating Committee[9]

In 1988, the Writer's Guild went on strike over the home video market, which was then small and primarily consisted of distribution via video tape. At that time, the entertainment companies argued that home video was an "unproven" market, with an expensive delivery channel (manufacturing VHS and Betamax tapes, and to a much smaller extent, Laserdisc). Movies were selling in the range of between $40-$100 per tape, and the writer's guild accepted a formula in which a writer would receive a small (0.3%) percentage of the first million of reportable gross (and 0.36% after) of each tape sold as a residual.

As manufacturing costs for video tapes dropped dramatically and the home video market exploded, writers realized that agreeing to this formula may have been a mistake. Debuting in 1997, DVDs replaced the more expensive VHS tapes slowly until they became the dominant format around 2001 and eventually became less expensive to produce, market, and purchase, while the previous VHS residual formula continued to apply.

At present, the home video market is the major source of revenue for the movie studios. In April of 2004, the New York Times reported the companies made $4.8 billion in home video sales versus $1.78 billion at the box office.[10]

WGA west President and Futurama writer Patric Verrone speaks at a strike rally in Los Angeles

Current proposals

WGA members claim that a writer's residuals, or profits made from subsequent airings or purchases of a program, are a necessary part of a writer's income that is typically relied upon during periods of unemployment that are common in the writing industry. The WGA has requested a doubling of the residual rate for DVD sales, which would result in a residual of approximately eight cents (up from four cents) per DVD sold.[11]

In negotiations, the AMPTP has refused to consider changing the formula. Their rationale has been that DVD sales are necessary to offset rising production and marketing costs.[12] They have further insisted that the current DVD formula be applied to residuals in new media (see below).

The WGA has said via press release that the DVD proposal was completely removed by the WGA from the table on November 4, 2007, the night before the strike began. However, WGAW President Patric M. Verrone later wrote that the membership exhibited "significant disappointment and even anger" when they learned of this, and as the removal was contingent on further concessions by the AMPTP (which did not happen), "all bets are off" on the withdrawal of the DVD proposal.

New media

One critical issue for the negotiations is residuals for "new media", or compensation for delivery channels such as Internet downloads, IPTV, streaming, smart phone programming, straight-to-Internet content, and other "on-demand" online distribution methods, along with video on demand on cable and satellite television.[13]

Background

Currently, the WGA has no arrangement with the companies regarding the use of content online, and two models of Internet distribution are currently being negotiated. The first is "digital sell-through" (also known as "Internet sales"). In digital sell-through, the consumer purchases a copy of the program and downloads it to a local storage device for subsequent viewing at their convenience. Examples include movies and television shows purchased through the iTunes Store and Amazon Unbox. In the second model, "streaming video", the consumer watches a program in real time as it is transmitted to their computer but is usually not saved. Current examples of this model include advertising-supported television programs streamed free to the audience, such as those available at NBC.com, ABC.com, FOX.com, CBS.com and thedailyshow.com.

In either case, the program may be viewed directly on a computer or it may be viewed on a traditional television via media distribution devices (e.g. Tivo). The convenience of both these technologies lowers the barriers to entry into the digital distribution marketplace making it more accessible to mainstream consumers.

It is widely expected[weasel words] that new media will eventually supplant both DVD in the home video market and television in the broadcasting market as the primary means for distribution[citation needed]. As in the mid-1980s, the companies have argued that new media represents an unproven and untested market and have asked for additional time for study. However, feeling resentment from the 20-year-old home video deal and unwilling to make similar concessions in a so-called "new market" yet again, WGA members have been adamant that whatever deal they make for new media, it cannot resemble the DVD formula.

New media is widely seen by most WGA writers as the central issue for the strike. Writer-director Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3) has dubbed new media "the One Issue" that matters.[14]

This sentiment was further articulated by a self-described "skeptic", writer Howard Gould, at a meeting of the full WGA membership the night before the strike date was announced. He said, to a standing ovation:

Soon, when computers and your TV are connected, that's how we're all going to watch. Okay? Those residuals are going to go from what they are towards zero if we don't make a stand now. ... This is such a big issue that if they see us roll over on this without making a stand- three years from now, they're gonna be back for something else. ... I might have been the most moderate one up here when we started, but I sat there in the room the first day and they read us those thirty-two pages of rollbacks. And what they wanted us to hear was that "if you don't give us what [we] want on the important thing, we're gonna come after you for all those other things." But what I heard was, if we give them that thing, they'll still come after us for those other things. And in three years, it'll be "we want to revamp the whole residual system," and in another three years, it'll be "y'know what, we don't really want to fund the health fund the way we've been." And then it will be pension. And then it'll be credit determination. And there just is that time when everybody has to see—this is one where we just gotta stand our ground."[15]

Current proposals

The WGA has proposed that writers receive 2.5% of distributor's gross for new-media sales and distribution.

The companies have thus far refused to address this proposal, and have instead proposed that Internet sales follow the same formula as DVD sales. With regard to streaming, the companies have proposed that so-called "promotional" streaming—including the streaming of a program in its entirety and even for profit via advertising or other means— does not entitle residuals to the writer or writers whatsoever.

Both of these proposals have been rejected by the WGA and are cited as evidence that the studios "(want) to shut down rather than reaching a fair deal."[16]

Jurisdiction in reality and animation

The WGA's membership of approximately 12,000 writers (more than 7,000 in WGAW and more than 4,000 in WGAE) primarily work on live-action, script-driven movies and television programs.[17]

Exactly if and how the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement should apply to other TV and film categories such as reality television and animation has been inconsistent over the years and is an area of much dispute.

Background

Programs such as Real People and That's Incredible, which were arguably "reality" shows of the 1980s, were covered by the MBA, whereas more recently produced reality shows such as Survivor and America's Next Top Model are not.[18] Many producers of reality programming argue that since these shows are mostly, if not entirely, unscripted, there is no writer. The WGA counters that the process of creating interesting scenarios, culling raw material, and shaping it into a narrative with conflict, character arc, and storyline constitutes writing and should fall under its contract.

In the summer of 2006, the WGA west attempted to organize employees of America's Next Top Model.[19][20] The employees voted to join the WGA, but then they were fired and production continued without them.

Animated films and TV programs have also been an area of heavy contention. The majority of animated film and television writing is not covered by the WGA's MBA. Most animated feature films have been written under the jurisdiction of another union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 839, also known as The Animation Guild. IATSE's jurisdiction stemmed from Walt Disney's tradition of creating an animated feature via storyboards written and drawn by storyboard artists. In recent years, most studios have begun hiring screenwriters to write script pages which are then storyboarded. According to the WGA, 100% of animated feature film screenplays in 2005 were written by at least one WGA member.[11] Recently, some animated features, such as The Simpsons Movie, were written under the WGA contract.[21] The only animated television programs that are affected by the strike are The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill and American Dad.[22]

The WGA and the IATSE have an ongoing disagreement as to which union should represent animation writers.[23]

Current proposals

Regarding reality programming, the WGA has requested contract language clarifying that reality programming does fall under its jurisdiction. They have further proposed the adoption of a credit, “Story Producer” and “Supervising Story Producer” to be given to those writers performing story contributions to a reality show.[24]

As for animation, the WGA has proposed clarifying its jurisdiction to cover all animation in TV and film that does not encroach on the jurisdiction of another union.[24]

The AMPTP has not agreed to these proposals.

Strike logistics

WGA members gathered at November 9 2007 rally at Fox Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles, California.

The current WGA contracts with AMPTP both expired on October 31 2007.[25] Talks broke down the night of the 31st over the new-media issue. During a meeting on November 1 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which was attended by 3,000 WGAW members, the general membership was informed that the negotiating committee had formally recommended a strike. The board said it would announce the date of the strike the following morning.[26] On November 2, the WGAE and WGAW announced that the strike would begin at 12:01 AM on November 5.[27][28]

On November 4, in a last-ditch conciliation to try to avoid the strike, the WGA temporarily withdrew its DVD proposal, but the Companies still insisted on a lack of residual for new media.[29] Talks subsequently broke down, with both sides accusing the other of walking out.[30]

Thus, on November 5, nearly 3,000 WGAW members, plus additional SAG and Teamsters members, picketed or refused to cross the picket lines at fourteen targeted studios in Los Angeles.[31] Additionally, many more Writer's Guild of America East picketers marched in locations in New York including Rockefeller Center. Picketing is scheduled to continue throughout the strike period.

On Friday, November 9, following four days of targeted picketing, a massive rally was held outside the Fox studios in Los Angeles, drawing an estimated 4,000 WGAW members and supporters, including a sizable number of SAG members.[32] Speakers included WGA West president Patric M. Verrone, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, and producer Norman Lear. The rally was opened with a two-song performance by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.[33]

On late November 16, 2007, both the WGA and the AMPTP made the following announcement: "Leaders from the WGA and the AMPTP have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. No other details or press statements will be issued."

On November 29, 2007, The AMPTP submitted a new proposal to the WGA, reportedly worth an additional $130 million in compensation. Both sides have agreed to a four-day recess after the WGA requested it to consider it and both sides will resume talks on December 4.

Strategies and tactics

AMPTP

In anticipation of the strike, production companies accelerated production of films and television episodes in an effort to stockpile enough material to continue regular film releases and TV schedules during the strike period.[34][35] A list of 300 high-priority film projects reportedly circulated around talent agencies in accordance with this effort.[36]

Following the refusal of many showrunner writer-producers to cross the picket line in the first week of the strike, the companies sent breach-of-contract letters and have suspended many of them without pay to encourage them to return to work.[37]

There is also speculation the companies are seeking out other sources of writing services, including in the UK.[38] The Writers Guild of Great Britain attempted to thwart this effort, however, by discouraging British union members from participating. [39]

WGA

WGA members gathered at November 9 strike rally in Century City.

It was initially expected that the strike, if it occurred, would be scheduled for the summer of 2008 to coincide with the expiration of the Screen Actors Guild's contracts. Instead, however, the strike was started shortly after the WGA's contracts expired, apparently to give the AMPTP less time to stockpile scripts and otherwise prepare for a strike in 2008.[40]

During the pre-strike negotiations, the WGA created "contract captains" to keep the general membership informed on a person-to-person basis of the latest developments. Once the strike started, these members became "strike captains" who are tasked with communication duties as well as helping to coordinate pickets.

The WGA has assigned picketers to location shoots in an attempt to shut down production and have set up picket lines in front of studio gates to encourage Teamsters, particularly truck drivers, not to cross the line.[41]

For its second week of picketing, the WGA has reduced their studio strike list from fourteen to ten, shifted picketing hours to earlier in the day, and has scheduled a series of daily strike themes ranging from "Bring-A-Star-To-Picket-With-You" (also called "Cast Day") to "Bring-Your-Kids" special events.[42][43]

The WGA has made a direct appeal to the public to explain the issues behind the strike, including use of online videos and blogs.[44][45] WGA strike captains have also encouraged fans to mail pencils to the film and TV moguls en masse.[46] [47] They are also looking to unorthodox methods, including performing a mock exorcism against Warner Bros. and holding the last rites for the former MBA[20].

Effect on television

Main article: Effect of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike on television

Response

Actors

They claim there’s no money in the Internet. That’s a shell game.

Actor Robin Williams[48]

The Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA contracts with the AMPTP both contain a "no strike" clause, meaning that working members of the acting unions are not supposed to walk off their set in support of another union's strike. However, many actors have expressed their support for the writer's strike, with some marching with writers and even refusing to cross the WGA's picket line.

List of actors picketing

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List of actors expressing support for picketers

Ellen DeGeneres stated that she supports the writers' strike, but crossed the picket line.[95] Her show continues production as normal with the exception of her monologue being omitted. The WGAE issued a statement condemning DeGeneres, stating that she was "not welcome in NY."[96] A statement defending DeGeneres was subsequently issued by AFTRA, which was then responded to by the WGAE.[97][98][99]

Early in the strike, it had been rumored that Jon Stewart was continuing to pay his Daily Show writers out of his own pocket, but a spokesman later denied the rumor was true.[100] However, Nikki Finke has reported that David Letterman will pay his entire staff's salary out of his own pocket through the end of the year.[101]

Writer-producers

Family Guy creator and actor Seth MacFarlane speaking at a WGAW rally in Los Angeles on November 9, 2007

Many television writer-producers, also known as "hyphenates" (or "show-runners", if they are in charge of the day-to-day production of a television show) who are WGA members found themselves contractually obligated to continue their production duties while simultaneously barred from performing writing duties during the strike. In a show of solidarity with the writers, approximately 120 show-runners marched in Burbank on November 7, 2007 and many have decided to honor the picket lines entirely, refusing to perform even their production duties during the strike.[102]

Producers

As a result of the strike, the companies have halted production on several television programs and have fired writers' assistants, production assistants, and other lower-level staffers from numerous programs. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane has called this a "desperate, punitive act" and called on "all show-runners whose assistants are terminated, if you have the means, keep paying your assistants. Because this strike is about the little guys."[103]

Agents

Literary agents stand to lose business when the writers they represent are not working. Some agencies have reportedly eliminated assistant positions and others have asked their agents to take pay cuts during the strike.[citation needed] A few of the larger and more prominent agencies, including William Morris, CAA, and ICM have provided coffee, bagels, and churros for picketing writers.[104] Agents had also reportedly been involved in back-channel efforts to get the two parties to return to the negotiating table before talks resumed November 26.[105]

Presidential candidate John Edwards attends November 16 rally for striking writers at a WGAW protest at NBC in Burbank

Politicians

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is negotiating with both sides of the dispute "because it has a tremendous economic impact on our state."[106] 2008 Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Bill Richardson, each issued statements of support for the WGA.[107] Civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson has marched with the writers and spoke at a WGA rally on November 9, 2007.[108] On November 13, 2007, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party adopted a resolution in support of the WGA.[109] WGAW president Verrone and Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg traveled to Washington, D.C. on November 14 to meet with legislators and regulators about the unions' position on new media.[110] On November 16, John Edwards appeared in person to picket and speak with the writers outside NBC studios in Burbank, CA.[111] The December 10, 2007 Democratic Presidential debate that was to be held in Los Angeles, California, was canceled November 28, 2007 due to candidate boycott. [112]

Media executives

Two prominent executives, both of whom headed major studios in the 1980s and moved on to Internet-related ventures, have voiced their disagreement with the tactics of the WGA.

For a writer to give up today's money for a nonexistent piece of the future — they should do it in three years, shouldn't be doing it now — they are misguided; they should not have gone on the strike.

Michael Eisner, new-media executive[113]

Former Walt Disney Corporation CEO Michael Eisner characterized the writer's strike as "insanity". He addressed a business conference, saying, "I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes, and this strike is just a stupid strike."[113] Eisner is the founder of the Tornante Company, an investment company geared towards digital media.

Former Paramount and Fox CEO Barry Diller also has stated the strike is "stupid." In comments to Fox Business Channel, he said, "There are no profits for the work that writers do that is then digitized and distributed through the Internet." Diller is currently the CEO of the Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp.

Diller also suggested that the writers guild should have waited five years to see where the revenues from new-media ventures were coming from. "We want to freeze this area until we can understand the revenues, which aren’t going to develop for another few years."[114]

Neither executive, however, expressed support for the AMPTP.[113][114]

Other unions

The WGA has acknowledged support from several unions, including the Screen Actors Guild, the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the National Writers Union, as well as writers guilds in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand."[115]

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents most of the "below the line" motion picture employees (over 50,000 members) and has jurisdictional disputes with WGAW in animation,[23] has not joined the strike, citing a "no strike" provision in their contracts.[116] IATSE president Tom Short has publicly blasted the tactics of the WGA, arguing that the writers guild intended to strike almost a year in advance of the expiration of the writers' contract. In a letter to Verrone made publicly available, Short wrote, "When I phoned you on Nov. 28, 2006, to ask you to reconsider the timing of negotiations, you refused. It now seems that you were intending that there be a strike no matter what you were offered, or what conditions the industry faced when your contract expired at the end of October."[23]

General public

Two opinion polls have been conducted to gauge the public's response to the strike. One national survey conducted by Pepperdine University found that 84%, or more than four out of five Americans, were aware that the strike was in progress.[117] Nearly two-thirds of the American public tends to side with the writers, one third are unsure, and only four percent sympathize with the AMPTP. A second regional poll conducted by SurveyUSA of Los Angeles residents showed that eight percent supported the studios with sixty-nine percent supporting the writers.[118]

Anecdotally, viewers of individual television shows have organized to support "their" writers. Fans4writers, an outgrowth of Joss Whedon's fan base, have walked the picket line and provided regular food drops to picketing writers. [119][120] Additional projects in support of the strike are on-going.

The long-term effect on the viewing habits of the general public is difficult to gauge. Estimates suggest that 10% of the overall television-viewing audience was lost as a result of the 1988 writers strike, a drop-off that has not been reversed.[121]

Popular culture

File:30rocknewscrawl206strike.png
Protesting Tina Fey's show 30 Rock references the writers strike in a news crawl.
  • The writer's strike was mentioned on the "Somebody to Love" episode of 30 Rock, which aired on November 15, 2007. During a fake MSNBC news report featuring the character of C.C. (Edie Falco), the news crawl reads: "News Crawl affected by Writers Strike - Using Repeat Text From previous season". Headlines then followed on the news crawl recycled from the previous season's episode "Hard Ball".[122][123]
  • The video game cartoon Penny Arcade released a comic in support of the strike joking that the writer (Tycho) would strike leaving the artist (Gabe) to produce the comic alone. There is no evidence that this has taken place, save for the punchline of the comic where a ludicrous new character is introduced. [125] This joke was also pulled in web comics by Rooster Teeth Productions.
  • The webcomic Something Positive released a comic in which the character Monette MacIntire is shown to be holding a sign in support of the WGA strike.
  • The A.V. Club, an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion, has designated TV networks and movie studios "unbearable" on its weekly Tolerability Index, stating, "Just give the writers what they want. TV without writers will be like watching VH1 while getting a lobotomy."[126]
  • An off-shoot of writers claiming to be green warriors have created a series of YouTube videos satirising the studio's perspective, though the level of subtlety in the satire has caused fans of the videos to incorrectly assume it was created by the studios. [127]
  • On 11/20/07, The "Ask A Ninja" podcast released an episode that comedically gave advice to the members of the Writer's Guild, suggesting that they replace protesters with vikings and change their name so as not to be associated with the Lollipop Guild or the World of Warcraft Guild.

Criticism of the WGA

AMPTP's official stance

Nick Counter, in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times, wrote, "Producers in Hollywood absolutely believe that writers should be compensated for their work in new media", and have already "put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads", but that the "theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured [that fact]."

Counter further claimed that the writers are demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue from ad-supported streaming videos, but that producers, with whom the WGA holds contracts, do not receive any of this revenue, which goes to the networks.[128]

Statement from Disney

Disney has issued a response to a flyer handed out by the WGA that states, "Here's the current arrangement writers have with Disney and other companies: Disney revenue from digital: $1.5 billion. Writer’s share: $0." Disney claims that this is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the WGA's leadership, as the majority of that revenue came from sales of Disney travel packages and merchandise online.[129]

Related work stoppages

Possible industry-wide strike

Any increase in benefits to health insurance, pension, or residual gains made by the writers guild are also likely to be demanded by other unions. This is a practice known as pattern bargaining. The AMPTP is aware that the WGA contract will become a model for agreements with other unions and has more at stake than just the writers' contract.

In July 2008, the contracts of two additional entertainment industry labor unions—the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Directors Guild of America (DGA)—are set to expire. If all three unions cannot reach an agreement with the AMPTP, they are expected to support each other in a collective negotiation that could potentially bring the Hollywood film industry to a standstill.[34]

Possible 2007 CBS News writers strike

CBS News and CBS's locally owned and operated station news operations (including CBS Radio's news radio stations like WCBS, WBBM, KYW and KNX) are currently subject to a different strike action by WGA which may be authorized November 15, as CBS News writers under WGA have been without a contract with the network since April 2005.[130] While most news writers are members of AFTRA, CBS News and CBS-owned news station employees are represented by WGAE and WGAW. Democratic presidential candidates said they would not cross picket lines for appearances on interview shows or a candidate debate.[131]

See also

Organized Labour Portal
Television Portal
Film Portal
Media and images from Commons

References

  1. ^ Cieply, Michael (2007-11-02). "Writers Say Strike to Start Monday". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Horiuchi, Vince (2007-11-04). "Writers strike to hit TV first - and hard". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  3. ^ Hibberd, James (2007-11-05). "AMPTP's Chief Negotiator: Writer Talks Over for 'Quite a While'". TVWeek. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ "Press Blackout--Companies Offer Rollblackouts". Retrieved 2007-11-29. {{cite web}}: Text "2007" ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Hollywood writers go on strike over new-media pay". Agence France Press. 2007-11-04.
  7. ^ 2004 Writers Guild of America–Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement (PDF), Writers Guild of America, 2004, retrieved 2007-11-09
  8. ^ "End of Day Statement from AMPTP President Nick Counter". Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. 2007-11-01.
  9. ^ "Contract 2007 Negotiations Statement" (Press release). Writers Guild of America. 2007-10-31.
  10. ^ "Studios Rush To Cash In On DVD Boom; Swelling Demand for Disks Alters Hollywood's Arithmetic". The New York Times. 2004-04-20. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  11. ^ a b WGA Contract 2007 Proposals (PDF), Writers Guild of America, retrieved 2007-11-09
  12. ^ Richard Verrier (2007-10-20). "Writers Guild votes overwhelmingly to authorize a strike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  13. ^ Leopold, Tony (2007-11-08). "Changing media landscape takes center stage in strike". CNN. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  14. ^ Artfulwriter.com - A blog maintained by writers Craig Mazin and Ted Elliot
  15. ^ Howard Gould (2007-11-06). Hear Howard Gould talk about what the strike is about. Youtube.
  16. ^ "TV Writers Say Strike Set For Monday". CBS News. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  17. ^ [2]
  18. ^ [3]
  19. ^ [4]
  20. ^ [5]
  21. ^ [6]
  22. ^ "Open Letter to All IATSE Members and Locals Engaged in Motion Picture and Television Production" (Press release). Local 839, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  23. ^ a b c Finke, Nikki (2007-11-14). "Bitchslapping Between IATSE & WGA: Why Tom Short Is Pissed At Verrone Et Al". Deadline Hollywood Daily. LA Weekly.
  24. ^ a b Proposals for the Writers Guild of America 2007 Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement (PDF), Writers Guild of America, 2007-07-16
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  26. ^ Fernandez, Maria Elena (2007-11-01). "A line in the sand". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
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  28. ^ Presidents' (sic) announce WGA strike (embedded video). Writers Guild of America.
  29. ^ "Contract 2007 Negotiations Statement". Writers of Guild of America, West. 2007-11-04. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  30. ^ Finke, Nikki. "Deals, Lies & Backchannelling: Why This Is A Bigger Mess Now Than Ever Before" (blog). Deadline Hollywood Daily. LA Weekly. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  31. ^ Finke, Nikki (2007-11-05). "On The Line, Part II: Strike News Day One" (blog). Deadline Hollywood Daily. LA Weekly. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  32. ^ Dave McNary (2007-11-09). "Writers stage big rally". Variety.
  33. ^ UnitedHollywood provides rally footage via Youtube (video)
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  35. ^ "Studios brace for life without scribes". Variety. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Havens, Edward (2007-09-13). "List of Pre-Strike Films Getting Made" (blog). Utah Street Networks.
  37. ^ Finke, Nikki (2007-11-09). "'Suspension Is Not Firing': Fox Stops Paying Showrunners & Hyphenates" (blog). Deadline Hollywood Daily. LA Weekly.
  38. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (2007-11-08). "Will producers turn to UK. writers?". Variety.
  39. ^ Elsworth, Catherine (2007-11-14). "US TV strike could give British a star role". London Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  40. ^ All Things Considered, "Frustrated TV and Film Writers on Verge of Strike". NPR.org
  41. ^ Nikki Finke reports partial success in slowing down production for Hotel For Dogs
  42. ^ Nikki Fink reports on scheduled "Bring-A-Star-To-Picket-With-You event
  43. ^ UnitedHollywood discusses week 2 strike strategies
  44. ^ UnitedHollywood provides rally footage via Youtube (video)
  45. ^ United Hollywood Appeals directly to the public via Youtube (video)
  46. ^ Pencils for Moguls
  47. ^ Pencils 2 Media Moguls Update
  48. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Robin Williams, Ray Romano support strikers". MSNBC. 2007-11-08.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm "Picket with the Stars: Tuesday, 12-2 at Universal". United Hollywood. 2007-11-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  50. ^ Finke, Nikki (2007-11-07). "On The Line: Writers Strike News, Day 2" (blog). Deadline Hollywood Daily. LA Weekly.
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  55. ^ a b c d e f "Celebrity Support For Striking Hollywood Writers". The ShowBuzz. CBS News.
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  58. ^ a b c d e Patrick Dempsey: "They WANT the strike!" A tragedy... YouTube. 2007-11-07.
  59. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_hzeG1BTo
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  61. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (2007-11-06). "High-profile writers Rock picket line in N.Y." Hollywood Reporter.
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  72. ^ a b http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/i93363/lisa-kudrow-and-matthew-perry.html
  73. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_hzeG1BTo
  74. ^ Nancyfan.com, Nancy Grahn supporting writer's strike, video.
  75. ^ Actress Sally Field Joins Striking Writers on the Picket Line. Los Angeles Times.
  76. ^ Garry Marshall un-Happy Days. YouTube. 2007-11-08.
  77. ^ "Weekday update with Seth Meyers" (blog). Show Tracker. Los Angeles Times.
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  79. ^ a b Gold, Matea (2007-11-06). "Actors in a bind over the picketline" (blog). Show Tracker. Los Angeles Times.
  80. ^ "COLD CASE Cast on the Picket Line" (blog). Show Tracker. United Hollywood. 2007-11-13.
  81. ^ Dillon, Nancy (2007-11-07). "TV writers slam Eva Longoria for working while they strike". New York Daily News. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  82. ^ "Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Wanda Sykes Walk The Picket Line" (blog). United Hollywood. 2007-11-06.
  83. ^ "Olivia Wilde, star of the Fox TV network series House M.D., walks a picket line along with members of the Writers Guild of America at one of the gates". Yahoo! News. 2007-11-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  84. ^ Associated Press (2007-11-09). "More celebs show solidarity at writers' picket lines". USA Today.
  85. ^ Wilson, Rainn (2007-11-09). "Dwight Schrute, Diplomat?" (blog). Scribe Vibe.
  86. ^ Baldwin, Alec (2007-11-07). "It's the Studio's Fault" (blog). The Huffington Post.
  87. ^ Fischer, Jenna (2007-11-07). "Understanding the Strike" (blog). Pam/Jenna MySpace Blog. MySpace.
  88. ^ Hollywood Rally for Hollywood Writers. YouTube.
  89. ^ Leno Backs Striking Writers. KTLA via CNN. 2007-11-07.
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  91. ^ ‘Housewives,’ ‘Office’ stopped by strike. KTLA via CNN. 2007-11-07.
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  94. ^ Jon Stewart discusses writer's strike, mocks company argument that there is no profit on Internet
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  103. ^ Seth MacFarlane calls on show runners to continue paying assistants
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  105. ^ Agents get involved in bringing the sides together
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  108. ^ Jesse Jackson pickets with writers
  109. ^ Los Angeles County Democratic Party Resolution in support of the WGA
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  116. ^ "IATSE President Short Orders Members to Honor Their Contracts" (PDF) (Press release). International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. 2007-10-31.
  117. ^ A survey conducted by Pepperdine University
  118. ^ SurveyUSA poll results
  119. ^ Whedon, Joss (2007-11-7). "More Joss Strike Talk" (blog). Whedonesque.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  120. ^ The Fans4Writers website
  121. ^ Goodman, Tim (2007-10-31). "What a Writers Strike Would Mean for Viewers". SFGate.com.
  122. ^ "Somebody to Love". 30 Rock. Season 2. Episode 5. 2007-11-15. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |episodelink= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
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  125. ^ http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/07
  126. ^ Gillette, Annie (2007-11-14). "The Tolerability Index". The A. V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2007-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  127. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=540fPtB0-Uc
  128. ^ "Cut the theatrics, writers", Los Angeles Times, editorial by Nick Counter, 17 November 2007.
  129. ^ "Leaders of Two Striking Entertainment Unions Clash", New York Times, 15 November 2007.
  130. ^ Gold, Matea (2007-11-05). "Union leaders expect CBS News writers to back strike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-11-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  131. ^ Nikki Finke reports on candidate reluctance to cross picket lines

External links

Interview with writer/director Paul Haggis, actor Scott Wilson and showrunner Marjorie David on the WGA strike. Part 1 Part 2

Union links

Employer links

News links

WGA member blog links

Eyewitness accounts

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2007_Writers_Guild_of_America_strike&diff=174778936&oldid=174776593

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