NaBloPoMo Week #2: I Got Nothing but Strike Talk

My day started out badly, when I called my dentist's office to confirm my appointment for tomorrow.

I did indeed have an appointment tomorrow -- but I also had one for today. How I ended up with appointments on consecutive days is a long story I won't go into here, but don't breathe a sigh of relief yet. After all, if I can't think of anything interesting to write about, you may be stuck reading that tale tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm off to a slower start than I anticipated. I have some writing deadlines to work with and research on a new project, but am still raking through the messages in my Inbox.

There's a lot of WGA Strike related stuff, which includes a TV Guide update with yesterday's news that the producers of The Office have closed up shop because the cast will not cross the picket line.

"That explains why I saw Steve Carell jogging in the neighborhood this morning instead of going to work," one of the gym moms told me yesterday. This is the same mom who once spied Paul McCartney grocery shopping at her local Ralph's and had David Hasselhoff crash a Halloween party one year.

There was also a bulletin from WGA President Patric Verrone (another ex-Tonight Show staffer), giving an update on the strike's progress. Since I could not find it on the WGA website (so cannot link to it) -- and as I really have nothing to say today other than to whine about my dental hell -- I'm reprinting it here with no additional comment:

CONTRACT 2007 E-BULLETIN FOR 11-7-07

To My Fellow Members,

Here are my thoughts following Day Three of our struggle.

We increased Monday's 3,000 person turnout on Tuesday to nearly 3,200. Wednesday we had over 3,300.I have tried to visit all the pickets personally but I have still not made it out to ABC Prospect (though I understand the cast of Grey's Anatomy was a newsworthy substitute). Unless you've been to as many picket sites as I have, you can't appreciate the degree of solidarity we are accomplishing. Two years ago, we looked for leaders among our membership and now we have a membership of leaders.

I want to give special recognition to Tom Johnson, head writer of Talkshow with Spike Feresten. Tom was hit by an overly aggressive driver at Sunset Gower Studios on Monday and sustained minor injuries that required a trip to the emergency room. We all owe Tom our respect and admiration for taking a bullet (or at least a fender) for our cause and I know I speak for the entire membership when I offer my personal gratitude.

Our membership support is extraordinarily solid. Over 125 showrunners picketed Wednesday at Disney and an ad featuring some 400 screenwriters (including some of the biggest names in the business) will appear in Thursday’s Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Members have come from as far away as Amsterdam to picket and we have received e-mails of encouragement from all over the world including writers in India and Afghanistan.

Closer to home, presidential candidate John Edwards sent us a statement of support and Rev. Jesse Jackson will be walking the picket lines with us at Paramount on Thursday. Encouragement, support, and even refreshments continue to be provided on the picket lines from SAG members while ACTRA (the Canadian actors union) has issued a letter of support. Talent agencies have also been sending food to the lines and Paradigm picked up the check for lunch for over a hundred showrunners at the Smokehouse in Burbank.

May I also recognize the tremendous pressure the employers have brought to bear on the Teamsters. We have seen acts of solidarity and we are getting assistance from many Teamsters but it cannot be detailed or it will stop. We should be grateful for every driver that has the courage and the consciousness to turn his truck around and refuse to cross the line and we should understand that this is an act worthy of the greatest respect.

Finally, I'd like to address a concern that, spoken aloud or not, is on the minds of everyone. We are not currently at the bargaining table and people want to know when we will return. Before I answer let me remind everyone that it was nearly four months between the time we put our proposals on the table in July and the first time we had a single counter proposal from the AMPTP on new media issues. The companies sought to get us to bargain against ourselves in that time. Thanks to the resolve and patience of our negotiation committee, we did not. The last move made on Sunday was our presentation of a comprehensive package. It is up to the companies to respond to that package. When they indicate that they are ready to do so, we will return to the bargaining table as soon as possible.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone

President, WGA West

Comments

[Lorna]

Donna, I especially like this:

We should be grateful for every driver that has the courage and the consciousness to turn his truck around and refuse to cross the line and we should understand that this is an act worthy of the greatest respect.

That shores up my feeling of having been supportive when I don't cross lines---once I had to cancel a trip, but in the long run, it's the right thing to do if you have any hope of support from your colleagues and neighbours in the same situation.

[cce]

Wow, this seems a little surreal as read from my office in Mass. Steve Carrell jogging, picketers hit by vans, life's just more interesting in L.A.