Writers, producers close in on strike As preparations for a walkout become urgent, back-channel meetings take place. Teamsters vow to honor pickets.
By Richard Verrier, Claudia Eller and Maria Elena Fernandez
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
November 3, 2007
Even as writers and major studios were making a last-ditch effort to avert a walkout early Monday morning, both sides were busily preparing for all-out war.
Union workers were furiously assembling picket signs Friday as strike captains contacted scores of television and film writers to tell them where to show up for demonstrations expected to sprout across Hollywood and in New York.
Studios were maneuvering to keep their production pipelines flowing, ratcheting up pressure on truck drivers and other members of the Teamsters union to keep them working in the event of a strike.
Teamster leaders have urged their members not to cross picket lines in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America, which represents about 12,000 TV and film scribes.
At the same time, the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were prodded late Friday by a federal mediator to meet Sunday at 10 a.m. to try to hammer out a new contract and avert a debilitating strike.
After months of contentious negotiations, writers and their employers were unable to reach agreement on a new contract to replace the one that expired Wednesday at midnight. Talks broke down over payments for DVDs and for shows distributed on the Internet.
On Friday, the union's board of directors accepted the recommendation of its negotiators to stage what would be the writers' first strike in nearly two decades.
"This is not an action that anyone takes lightly," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, at a news conference Friday. "But it slowly became apparent that the studios are not prepared to deal fairly with writers and the rest of the talent."
Nick Counter, president of the producers alliance, said the Writers Guild's call for a strike was "precipitous and irresponsible." Yet he held out some hope that a deal could be reached: "Our goal continues to be to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that will keep the industry working."
Already, informal behind-the-scenes talks have been begun between high-level members of the writers' negotiating committee and the studio and network executives they work for. The committee is headed by comedy writer John F. Bowman ("Saturday Night Live") and includes such top writer-producers as Neal Baer ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") and Marc Cherry ("Desperate Housewives").
Another high-profile member of the committee, Carlton Cuse, an executive producer of "Lost," confirmed Friday that members of the guild and the negotiating committee were having "back-channel" meetings with leaders of the alliance.
"For five months, we've had a series of meetings in this big room where 40 people on each side have sat across from each other, and nothing has been accomplished," Cuse said. "And people at a certain point have begun to realize that that's not going to be an effective forum to get a deal cleared."
A strike would not only hurt the entertainment industry, but would also have a ripple effect across the Los Angeles economy. Small businesses that feed off Hollywood could be especially hurt.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with guild officials earlier this week at City Hall, offering to help mediate the dispute.
However, the parties were so polarized that few were optimistic about the probability of an eleventh-hour deal. In addition, some studio executives wondered whether negotiating a pact with a moderate faction of the Writers Guild would accomplish much, since the hard-liners appeared to be calling the shots at the union.
Complicating the situation for the studios is the threat of the powerful Teamsters joining the fray. If the Teamsters' 4,500 truck drivers, casting directors and location managers refuse to cross picket lines, that would cause an immediate disruption, increasing the writers' leverage. For example, drivers might refuse to deliver lighting and camera equipment needed at a studio set or on location.
Teamsters Local 399 leader Leo Reed this week urged his members to honor the picket lines, a call that was reiterated Thursday by Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. "If we abandon our union brothers and sisters now, we abandon the very core principles of trade unionism," he said.
The Teamsters maintain that members have the right to refuse to cross picket lines of other unions without being penalized by their employers.
The producers took aim at that provision this week, alleging in a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board that it violates federal law.
On Friday the Teamsters fired back, filing an complaint with the labor board against the producers alliance. It alleges that the group had made a "concerted effort to intimidate Local 399 members with threats of immediate discharge and future retaliation" if they refused to cross a Writers Guild picket line.
Producers alliance spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti called the allegation untrue. "No Teamster has been or will be threatened for following his conscience," she said.
The studios were also telling writers they could continue to work and collect a paycheck during a strike.
"Federal law guarantees your right to work during a strike," stated a six-page letter distributed this week by Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Studios. "We encourage writers to work."
The letter also said that writers could be replaced.
"Clearly this is not the studio's preferred course," said the letter, which was provided to writers who work on ABC shows.
In the letter, ABC suggested that writers who wanted to work through the strike could resign from the guild or convert their membership to nonvoting status, something called a "financial core" membership. Those members pay dues and receive benefits, but the Writers Guild could block their attempts to regain full membership later.
In the last writers strike, in 1988, some guild members took that option and went back to work. That allowed the studios to continue production, weakening the union's position.
ABC's letter outlined the procedure for resigning from the Writers Guild.
In a statement Friday, ABC said it had distributed the letter to answer employees' questions. "The law protects both the right to work as well as the right to strike. We thought it fair that employees be fully informed."
Throughout the city, TV show-runners were planning to work through the weekend to finish scripts before Monday's strike. Wunderkind producer Greg Berlanti, whose company produces "Brothers & Sisters," "Dirty Sexy Money" and the ABC midseason drama "Eli Stone," said his focus was on his company's 950 employees.
"I want to keep our crew and our actors and everybody working as long as possible to make these shows great," Berlanti said. "If a strike happens, and no one ever wants it to happen, I want the people that work for me to survive it."
But concentrating, he said, was tough, as people were taking down pictures in their offices and behaving like it was the end of the season instead of halftime.
"It's been a really hard couple of weeks with the combination of trying to do more work than usual, suffering the feeling that you don't have any control over the situation," Berlanti said. "Then there's a sense of the impending strike and what that can bring. None of it is good."
richard.verrier@latimes.com
claudia.eller@latimes.com
maria.elena.fernandez@latimes.com
Times staff writers Meg James, Andrea Chang and Joseph Menn contributed to this report.
WGA leaders call for strike
Writers would walk on Monday
By DAVE MCNARY
The Writers Guild of America is going on strike as early as Monday.
In a lively meeting of 3,000 guild members Thursday night, the WGA's negotiating committee announced its unanimous strike recommendation, a pronouncement that generated an enthusiastic response from the SRO crowd at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The decision also is sure to cause ripple effects within the Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild as they negotiate their contracts within coming months.
A final decision on striking could come as early as today via meetings of the WGA West board and the WGA East Council. Leaders stressed throughout Thursday's meeting that they could not specify how soon a strike will start. Attendees were instructed that they should go to work today and wait for a call or email from strike captains.
But it's a foregone conclusion that the WGA panels will OK a strike and the consensus is that they'll probably select Monday as the starting day.
There's still a chance of re-launching the negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers over the weekend. But that scenario's doubtful , given the vitriolic rhetoric that's dominated in recent days.
AMPTP president Nick Counter, who has blasted the WGA as being strike-happy and unprofessional, issued a statement saying it was expecting the strike recommendation.
"By the WGA leadership's actions at the bargaining table, we are not surprised by tonight's recommendation," Counter said. "We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend."
WGA negotiating committee chair John Bowman told the audience that back-channel communications are taking place in hopes of salvaging the talks but did not indicate whether any more official negotiations have been scheduled.
Bowman also blasted the AMPTP for being unresponsive to the WGA's proposals, adding, "We've been negotiating with ourselves."
WGA West exec director David Young detailed the current state of bargaining, asserted that the guild has taken nearly half of its 26 original proposals off the table. He noted that the AMPTP has not yet submitted an economic proposal.
Young also went over the companies' proposal that programming delivered streaming video be considered "promotional" - under which writers would not be paid. That provoked an especially hostile reaction from the crowd.
WGA West president Patric Verrone prompted a standing ovation from the scribes when he asked all the strike captains to stand. SAG president Alan
Rosenberg recevied a similar response when he pledged solidarity - though SAG's advised its members that they must cross picket lines if they're under contract to work.
"Stay strong," Rosenberg declared. "We're with you all the way."
SAG has been more closely aligned with the WGA during negotiations than any other union. The actors union is expected to launch contract talks next spring to replace their current deal, which expires June 30.
Hopes for a settlement cratered Wednesday night -- a few hours before the WGA contract expired -- amid bitter recriminations from both sides. The meltdown occurred when companies insisted that the WGA drop its demand to increase homevid residuals, including Internet downloads.
"Due to overriding business reasons, no further progress can be made because of the WGA's continuing efforts to substantially increase the DVD formula," Counter said Thursday in an earlier statement. "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."
The WGA accused the companies of being unresponsive toward a compromise package of proposals, including a concession on DVD. The WGA offered to keep the current DVD rate in place for discs with less than $1 million in sales, but is still asking to double residuals for any disc with over $1 million in wholesale revenues.
Scribes currently receive less than a nickel for each disc sold but studios and nets contend that DVD revenues are critical for film and TV projects to break even amid sharply rising costs.
CBS topper Leslie Moonves told analysts and investors Thursday that he was not worried about a strike.
"We are prepared with a full slate of firstrun programming now and at midseason," Moonves said in a conference call about third quarter earnings.
"The bottom line is this: In the event of a strike, we anticipate no material impact on the company for the remainder of the season."
The impact of a strike would be felt most immediately on latenight TV, with scripted shows getting hit in a couple of weeks. But once the WGA strikes and starts picketing, the town's focus will shift to the start of negotiations between the Directors Guild of America and the AMPTP.
Though the DGA's current contract won't conclude until June 30, the directors tend to start their talks at least six months prior to expiration, and it's widely expected that talks would begin in the next few weeks. The DGA's leaders indicated last month that the guild was nearly ready to start bargaining.
Jim Johnston, a partner specializing in entertainment business at the New York firm Davis and Gilbert, said the prospect of a DGA deal that addresses thorny issues such as new-media compensation will undercut the WGA's position. "If the DGA can get analogous issues resolved, that's going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the WGA," he added.
Support for the WGA from the other Hollywood unions has been tepid -- except for the Teamsters, who have over 4,000 drivers, location managers and casting directors through Local 399. Three days after Local 399 secretary-treasurer Leo Reed urged individual members to honor WGA picket lines, the notion received a ringing endorsement Thursday from national president Jim Hoffa.
"I encourage the members of WGA to stand strong and fight for what you believe is right and fair," he said. "The Teamsters support your cause. Without the content these proud union members provide, the television and motion picture industry would come to a grinding halt."
Hoffa noted that although Teamsters are contractually bound to continue to work active productions if the WGA does go out on strike, each and every Local 399
Teamster has the right to honor any picket line if it is raised at their place of employment without fear of reprisal from the studios.
"If there is one thing that can be said about the 1.4 million Teamsters across this country, it is that our union is one that believes in strength through solidarity," he added.
The prospect of Teamster drivers has already prompted studios and nets to look for alternatives and issue warnings to employees that they could be fired. ABC circulated a memo to Local 399 employees this week in the wake of Reed's announcement -- which asserted that the Teamster contract prevents producers from disciplining employees who honor picket lines.
"Local 399 cannot discipline you for making the decision to work," the net said. "If you make a decision not to cross a picket line by another union such as the WGA, know that you are refusing to perform your duties on a day that you have a call and that the Studio has the right to replace you because we have a right to try to operate while the WGA is on strike. As such, the studio will take all necessary action in order to ensure that we continue to operate."
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Writers Guild negotiators eye Monday strikeMayor offers to help
By Carl DiOrioNov 2, 2007
WGA membership meets.
UPDATED 10:49 p.m. PT Nov. 1, 2007
WGA negotiators Thursday night unanimously decided to bring a strike recommendation to their elected leadership Friday.The announcement drew cheers from the roughly 3,000 members of the WGA West assembled at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The strike likely will begin Monday, but a final decision on the timing will be determined Friday, when the WGA West and WGA East boards and councils meet at 10 a.m. PDT in L.A. and New York.
In a surprise development, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has offered his services to help bring about an agreement between the writers and the Hollywood TV and film studios.
Representatives of the guild and the Hollywood studios held an initial gettogether in the mayor's office Thursday, a well-placed source said."The mayor's involvement gives us hope because the mayor's not going to get involved if he thinks it's hopeless," said Jeff Hermanson, WGAW assistant exec director."We are receptive to meetings as long as they are not conditioned on non-negotiable demands from the companies," Hermanson said.
The turnout at the cavernous convention center was large. A throng of writers descended on the downtown venue backslapping one another and greeting friends. Conversation with individual writers, however, revealed an underlying anger over what they viewed as long-standing mistreatment at the hands of their studio employers."A lot of us are feeling very frustrated," said Marc Cherry, showrunner on ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and a member of the WGA negotiating committee. "We very much would like to make a deal, but we feel the other side is not letting us do that."Several others among the crowd expressed other frustrations."We don't mind waiting six months between paychecks," one screenwriter heading into the meeting said when asked his feelings about a work stoppage."The studios take so long paying us anyway that we're used to it. They are just very disrespectful that way, and there is a residual resentment."Pun intended.Carlton Cuse, showrunner on ABC's "Lost" and a member of the WGA negotiating committee, said he was heartened at the express support for the guild leadership's stances on DVD and new-media residuals."It was enormously gratifying to see the near unanimity of the membership," Cuse said.
Alliance of Motion & Television Producers president Nick Counter claimed to be unfazed by the WGA strike recommendation."By the WGA leadership's actions at the bargaining table, we are not surprised by tonight's recommendation," Counter said. "We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend."No bargaining sessions were yet set, however.Among those addressing the troops at the WGA membership meeting was SAG president Alan Rosenberg. "I was asked to come, (and) we have a strong alliance with the writers guild," he said. "So I was here to show support."
Anxious industryites have been awaiting word on whether a strike would be called ever since the WGA's last bargaining session with the AMPTP ended on Wednesday with both parties expressing bitter frustration over a major impasse in their talks.DVD is once again keeping the parties from finding negotiating traction, but the guild's call for expanded compensation from new-media content is another major sticking point.
Three years ago, the WGA tried unsuccessfully to sweeten its DVD deal, and the studios are again drawing a line in the sand of the issue. It's less clear whether there is any greater flexibility in the studios' resistance to expanded new-media compensation.
In their previous talks in 2001, the WGA ultimately was forced to take improved health and pension plans instead of higher DVD residuals. That happened after the DGA signed a contract of similar terms, effectively eliminating the writers' bargaining clout.
Many believe the DGA -- which like SAG is under contract through June -- again will cut an early deal with the studios. If that happens while writers are on picket lines, the impact on WGA's bargaining position would be almost without precedent and impossible to predict.
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WGA Strike: Writers Eyes Monday to Walk 
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