So about that fun post I promised yesterday?
That's been pushed back until tomorrow. (For a preview of what I'll be writing about, you can see the photos on my Flickr stream.)
Instead, I want to talk some more about the WGA Strike.
I know. For someone who no longer has any vested interest in the outcome of a Hollywood labor dispute, I can't seem to let it go. Probably for the same reason that I always root for UCLA, even though I only attended the school for one quarter.
If there is anyone out there who still doesn't understand why "highly paid" television and movie writers are striking, the video clip below (courtesy of UnitedHollywood.com and Jon Robin Baitz of "Brothers and Sisters" and the Huffington Post) should make the point.
BTW, I put "highly paid" in quotes, because while those who are actively employed on staff certainly DO make a lot of money, the MAJORITY of WGA members are more like ME. They either haven't worked in years -- or work so sporadically that the income they derive from writing averages $60,000. I know $60K is nothing to sneeze at (and exponentially more than what I'm eking out from blogging), but the last time I looked, that was not a wealthy person's income. That's middle class in this country, and not exactly upper middle class in an expensive city like Los Angeles.
The AMPTP did the same thing during the '88 strike. They cried poverty to their workers while crowing about network profits to their investors.
Right now, both sides are engaging in a war for public opinion. The deep pockets of the producers can pay for a lot of sympathetic news stories. They want nothing more than to break this union, because everyone knows that if the writers are successful in their demands, the actors and directors will expect the same when their contracts expire in the spring. And they deserve to. This is why so many celebrities have shown solidarity with the writers this time around (I do not remember so many famous people showing support in 1988). This is why I'm interrupting my usual mix of mommy blather and Southern California wonder to help spread their point of view. I'm nothing if not loyal.
Click the link below for the latest official word from the WGA board. And tomorrow, we will return to our regularly scheduled program. I promise you more Hollywood -- but the kind of show biz stuff y'all like.
Contract 2007 E-Bulletin - WGAW Response to AMPTP Ad
To the Membership:
First, I want to express my gratitude to all the members of the WGA, SAG, IATSE, and Teamsters, and all of the TV and film fans who have bonded together to help get our message across. The response from the community has been wonderful and we have much to be thankful for. Today’s rally, with the entire roster of actors from several top TV shows, as well as some of the most influential feature actors in the business, meant more to our membership than we can express.
However, the reason for this message is the AMPTP has been making some misleading statements. I want to make sure you know the truth. They say writers are already paid residuals for digital downloads. That’s true. We are paid one third of one cent per dollar made by Studios for digital downloads. One third of a cent. This is a paltry amount for work that we have created. We are asking for 2.5 cents per dollar, which is what we currently make on ad-supported TV programming.
The AMPTP says that we were given $260 million in residuals in 2006. This was our contractual share of a record setting twenty billion dollars the studios earned from reruns of the work we created. The companies’ rollbacks would cut our residuals in half.
The AMPTP says that, when they walked out of negotiations, on offer was on the table to pay writers for Internet streaming. This is misleading. Nothing but rollbacks were on the table when they walked out, and they have yet to provide an economic proposal, after three and a half months of our requesting one. We have presented them with ours, and we are ready and eager to hear their response.
Be forewarned, the AMPTP has a large advertising budget, and we can expect them to issue many more misleading statements. We know, however, that the truth will prevail.
Sincerely,
David Young
Executive Director, WGAW
Chief Negotiator, WGA
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