On Feb.12, the Writers Guild of America voted by a 92.5 percent margin to end its strike against the greedy corporate production companies. The strike began on Nov. 5, when the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers walked away from the bargaining table.
The AMPTP wished to strong-arm the WGA into accepting a contract that would leave writers out of a share of revenue
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According to the WGA leadership, the new contract is “not ideal.” Demands dropped by the writers include WGA jurisdiction in animation and reality television, and the removal of a “no strike clause” from the contract.
Except for the Teamsters, the contracts of most all entertainment unions contain a clause that states union members must continue working even when a sister union in the industry is on strike. These clauses are an obstacle to organizing because they prevent a total work stoppage—organized labor’s most powerful bargaining chip.
Some concern has been raised among WGA membership about the new contract’s 17- and 24-day windows of free Internet content reuse and the lack of bigger cable syndication gains. Nevertheless, the WGA’s Negotiating Committee did accomplish three important gains for writers in new media: distributor’s gross, separated rights and percentage-based residuals.
These demands represent some the most fundamental principles of the WGA, won by early members of the guild. They had all been flatly denied by the AMPTP when they walked out of negotiations on Nov. 5. Although the new contract may not be ideal, it is certainly a better deal than the studios were willing to offer in the first place.
The scabbing of big-name celebrities like Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien did not help the writers during this struggle. In addition, the Directors Guild of America dealt the WGA’s cause a major blow when it negotiated a quick deal with the producers in January. The DGA agreed to far less than what the WGA was demanding for its members.
It spite of these setbacks, the members of the WGA were persistent. They knew it was imperative to get a foot in the door with new media; and they were, for the most part, prepared to remain on strike even longer if necessary.
The tenacity of WGA members, together with the solidarity of other entertainment workers and the general public, forced the rich corporate bosses to negotiate a deal with fewer cutbacks than they wanted.
During the 100-day strike, solidarity with the writers ran high among entertainment workers and the general public. The WGA garnered support from U.S. labor unions, such as the Service Employees International Union and the International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union. Entertainment unions in Britain, Germany, Australia and other countries also extended their solidarity.
The next task of WGA members will be to vote to ratify the tentative contract. This vote will take place via ballots by mail at a membership meeting to be held on Feb. 25.
The rank-and-file of the WGA, the Screen Actors Guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and others undoubtedly have learned much from this battle. In a letter to the entertainment community published online, Thania St. John, a WGA member since 1988, wrote of the importance of remembering that the “fight for fairness” continues “long after we go back to work.”
St. John continued, “Sometimes peace is born from struggle. And sometimes resentment is born from compliance. There is nothing wrong with wanting a fair share of something that you have helped build. And there’s nothing wrong with revisiting a contract every three years, especially when there is a changing marketplace involved. Not making any gains for the sake of peace is the same as sealing up a pot of water and turning the flame on low. Eventually something’s gonna blow.”
