Breaking up the boys' club in Hollywood labor negotiations

Carol Lombardini may have the toughest, if least glamorous, job in Hollywood. As the chief negotiator for the major studios, she must find consensus among a group of executives who often have conflicting interests and priorities.

But Lomabardini, the newly appointed president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, has had plenty of time to learn what she’s getting into. In selecting Lombardini for the job, the alliance’s board chose an ultimate insider. The onetime labor attorney has spent most of her career — 27 years — at the alliance, where she worked under her longtime mentor, Nick Counter, who retired earlier this year.

In a recent interview, Lombardini, 54, shared her thoughts on the new job, how she might do things differently and the challenges she faces to find common ground with Hollywood’s increasingly restless talent unions while pushing the agenda of her demanding bosses.

You were up until 3 a.m. the other night negotiating a contract with the American Federation of Musicians. Clearly, you don’t keep bankers’ hours.

It’s very hard to focus when you have 20 people in a room. It happens more often than I would like. There are days when I wish I had a 9-to-5 job.

So how many labor contracts have you been involved in during your career?

I think I’ve participated in more than 300 deals. This is probably one of the most heavily unionized industries in the U.S. When you step foot on a set in Hollywood, you’re automatically dealing with 25 unions. It’s very challenging because you have to know what’s in each contract. Even locals within the same union have different points of view on the same issues.

In some ways you have a thankless job: the nemesis of Hollywood labor.

There is a certain truth about it being thankless. As the chief negotiator, you are the target of negative attention from the other side. But the irony of the situation is that, in reality, I’m labor’s closest ally because if I can’t convince my bargaining committee to do something they are asking for, they are not going to get it.

You’re the first female negotiator for the major studios. Are you ready to break up the boys' club?

I think we have broken up the boys' club. When you look at our bargaining committee, I would say we’re 30% women. Women have done a really remarkable job in labor relations. When I first came to this job 27 years ago, there were many people on the management side who probably never would have considered a woman for the top position.

Your predecessor, Nick Counter, was known as a pugnacious negotiator.  Will you adopt a similar approach?

IATSE and AFI settle labor dispute

 The AFI Fest won't have to worry about a "Norma Rae" scene playing out in Hollywood.

An ugly labor dispute between the union representing Hollywood's below-the-line workforce and the American Film Institute has been settled.

Last week, Matt Loeb, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, issued an unusually blunt denunciation of AFI, accusing the nonprofit group's management  of using scare tactics to discourage concession workers at its Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland from joining the union, which represents 110,000 workers in the film and theater industry.

The dispute threatened to to disrupt the AFI Fest in Los Angeles this week when Loeb called for a boycott of all AFI events, although he stopped short of calling for an actual work stoppage by the IATSE concession workers at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre where AFI films are screened.

But the spat ended on Wednesday when the union announced that it had negotiated an agreement with AFI to represent the Maryland theater workers. The agreement provided "significant wage, benefit and condition improvements," according to a statement from the guild, which touted how Loeb had "put pressure on the company by informing the public of the dispute."

The union added  cryptically, that "President Loeb was in Los Angeles and had planned to be present for any necessary activities."

-Richard Verrier

Photo: IATSE President Matt Loeb. Credit: IATSE

California passes new law to protect child actors from scams

Hollywood's smallest and most vulnerable players are getting some parental help from Sacramento.

For years, parents have complained to the L.A. city attorney's office and the Better Business Bureau about the unscrupulous practices of talent listing services and acting schools that charge exorbitant upfront fees -- sometimes as high as $9,000 -- on the promise of finding acting jobs for their children on popular TV shows.

With the help of the city attorney's office and the Screen Actors Guild, the state Legislature last week enacted a bill that clamps down on such rogue companies by providing a new set of consumer protections for aspiring child actors. Among other things, the legislation will make it illegal for third parties to charge advance fees for talent representation services to potential actors and models. It also would require them to post bonds with the state and use unambiguous contracts.

SAG officials touted the new regulations Wednesday at a press conference attended by a coalition of concerned parents, their children and local politicians and state politicians, including Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank), who wrote the bill.

SAG President Ken Howard, citing the guild's longstanding efforts to push for laws that protect the welfare of child actors, said the legislation will protect "innocent, well-intentioned people from paying for goods that no person or entity can promise or deliver."

Anne Henry, founder of the advocacy group BizParentz Foundation, said the bill was sorely needed. "We've seen literally thousands of complaints, so we're hopeful this bill will make an impact,'' she said.

-- Richard Verrier

SAG Board taps David White as new executive director and chief negotiator

The Screen Actors Guild board of directors has appointed David P. White as the national executive director and chief negotiator for Hollywood's largest union.

The appointment of White, who had been serving as interim executive director, was widely anticipated after a group of moderate actors who orchestrated the firing of his predecessor, Doug Allen, installed White in January. 

The moderates recently solidified their position on the national board when their candidate, veteran character actor Ken Howard, soundly defeated Anne-Marie Johnson, who was backed by the Membership First faction that had supported Allen and swept outgoing SAG President Alan Rosenberg into office four years ago.

Johnson and Rosenberg filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to block the board's firing of Allen, who led the union during a yearlong contract standoff with the studios.

Reflecting ongoing divisions in the 125,000 member union, SAG's board approved a two-year contract for White by a 71%-to-29% margin at a meeting Sunday in Los Angeles.

White is a former general counsel for SAG who has pledged to work toward improving relations with other unions, notably the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and to help unify the guild, which has been beset with disputes over negotiating strategy and how to deal with the smaller actors union that is making rapid inroads into prime-time television.

In a statement, White acknowledged the challenges he faces. "We will continue to get our house in order -- financially and strategically. I have great confidence in the guild's ability to navigate the dramatic changes taking place in our industry."

Supporters said White has brought stability and renewed effectiveness to the guild, which has ratified six contracts this year and taken cost-cutting steps to deal with a budget shortfall caused by the recession and work slowdown for actors. 

"David is a highly skilled professional, with a remarkable ability to listen to the concerns of all sides of complex issues,'' Howard said in a statement. "He is respected by members of staff and I am confident that under his leadership, the guild will continue building on the achievements he has overseen in the past nine months."

-- Richard Verrier

Photo Credit: Screen Actors Guild


 

Studios tap Carol Lombardini as new chief negotiator

The major studios have tapped veteran negotiator Carol Lombardini as their new bargaining chief for labor contracts.

Lombardini today was named president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains union agreements on behalf of more than 350 film and TV producers.

Her appointment was hardly a surprise. Lombardini was the front-runner to replace longtime negotiator Nick Counter, who retired earlier this year. She served as acting president and was heavily involved in the recent contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild.

Since joining the alliance in 1982, Lombardini has served various positions in the group, including that of counsel and vice president of legal and business affairs.

Lombardini during past negotiations has shown a less combative style than her predecessor, although, given the nature of the job -- facing off against union negotiators during marathon bargaining sessions -- she has been as tough as her longtime mentor. Counter was vilified by union members, especially during the strike last year by Hollywood screenwriters.

"She has a proven track record as a negotiator, deep knowledge of labor issues and excellent relationships throughout the industry with the guilds, unions and member companies alike,'' said Warner Bros. Chief Executive Barry Meyer, who led the committee to name Counter's replacement.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo credit: Vernon T. Williams / Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers

Writers Guild of America, East signs 11 digital media companies

Next time you're watching content online, you can be sure to look for the union label.

Furthering its push into the digital realm, the Writers Guild of America, East announced today that it had signed agreements to extend union benefits to scribes who work in nearly a dozen independent digital production companies.

The companies include Dinosaur Diorama TV, producers of such Web series as  "The Burg"; New Jill Productions, creator of "Jack & Jill," a comedy about a trashy romance novelist's personal struggles; and Kapri Productions, producer of Elena Moscat's Web series "Life After Lisa," about college life in the mid-1980s.

The new signatories have produced more than 12 series with budgets ranging from a few thousand to half a million dollars.

Under the agreements, writers who work on the shows will become guild members and thus be paid under the terms of the union's main contract. The fight to secure union coverage for those who work in new media was a central issue in the 100-day strike last year by the Writers Guild.

Since the strike ended, both east and west branches of the guild have been moving aggressively to expand into new-media production, which is largely nonunion.  The additional 11 signatories brings the total number of new-media agreements to about 40 on the East Coast. The West has inked more than two dozen deals with digital production companies.

"It's a different community of creators,'' said Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. "Nobody really knows how the business model will shake out, but we think we need to be at the table to ensure writers are protected."

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Actress Stephanie Danielson in the Web series "Life After Lisa."  Credit: Kapri Productions

SAG's Unite for Strength wins, but its leader Ned Vaughn loses

The party wins but one of its leaders gets left in the cold?

That's one of the surprising outcomes from yesterday's Screen Actors Guild election.

The so-called moderate faction known as Unite for Strength garnered a big victory yesterday when its candidate, veteran character actor Ken Howard, won a decisive victory in the presidential contest, soundly defeating his principal challenger, Anne-Marie Johnson, from the Membership First group that swept control of the union four years ago.

In addition, Unite for Strength won four additional seats on the 69-member national board, and 17 of the 22 seats for alternate board members in Hollywood who serve on the national board when regulars can't attend.

So why didn't one of the leaders of the group and its chief spokesman, Ned Vaughn, make the cut? Vaughn lost his position as an alternate board member.

Part of the reason might be that in Screen Actors Guild elections, perhaps more than any other guild, name recognition counts. After all, these are actors. And it's no coincidence that the top vote-getters happened to also be the most famous actors, such as Ed Harris, Martin Sheen and Ed Asner -- all from the Membership First ticket.

Like many working actors, Vaughn, despite nearly 60 credits to his name and having appeared in such shows as "Cane," "Commander in Chief" and "24," isn't exactly a household name.

Still, there were several other lesser known actors who still got elected to the board. A further explanation might lie in the fact that Vaughn was also targeted by by his opponents precisely because of his high profile role last year in helping to stage a boardroom coup against the former leadership. One anonymous e-mail urged SAG members to vote for anyone except Ned Vaughn. Johnson also singled out Vaughn in her campaign.

For his part, Vaughn took the loss in stride, joking that he'd have more time now to spend with his family, and looks to the big picture. "It's about a movement, not any individual,'' he said. "I'll continue to be in the mix."

-- Richard Verrier

Ken Howard, a moderate, elected Screen Actors President

That's the second big win for Ken Howard this week.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild have elected the veteran character actor, who just won won an Emmy on Sunday for his role in HBO's "Grey Gardens," as the union's new president, capping a bitter election campaign that sharply divided Hollywood's largest and most fractious union.

Howard defeated actress Anne-Marie Johnson, SAG's first vice president who was his leading challenger and backed by the faction that swept outgoing president Alan Rosenberg into office four years ago. Supporters of Howard further consolidated power by winning a majority of the 22 seats on the 69-member national board that were up for grabs.

The result further tilts the balance of power inside the actors union toward a group of moderates endorsed by Tom Hanks and George Clooney, who led a revolt against the union's leadership, forcing the ouster earlier this year of its executive director.

The group installed a new negotiating team and appointed former general counsel David White as the union's interim executive director, but the actions sparked a lawsuit by Johnson and Rosenberg.

Howard, whose credits include the TV series "Crossing Jordan," campaigned on a platform that included merging with the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

AFTRA suspended its longtime bargaining partnership with SAG last year after a dispute over turf, freeing the union to negotiate directly with the studios for the main prime-time TV contract. The smaller actors union, which has long played second fiddle to SAG, has suddenly emerged as the go-to union for new prime-time TV shows, weakening SAG's grip in area it has traditionally dominated.

Howard argued that having two actors' unions allows studios to pit one against the other, severely undercutting SAG's leverage at the bargaining table.

Johnson, star of  the TV series "In the Heat of the Night" and "That's So Raven," countered that merging the two unions was a bad idea because their memberships are too dissimilar. Although both unions represent actors and share about  44,000 members in common,  AFTRA's members also include broadcast announcers, recording artists and radio show hosts. 

Johnson's close association with Rosenberg, however, may have hurt her campaign. Rosenberg waged an unsuccessful campaign to defeat a contract negotiated by AFTRA, fiercely opposed a SAG contract that was approved overwhelmingly by members, and lost a battle to keep Allen in his job.

The result follows a similar outcome in a closely contest election at the Writers Guild of America, West, where members also tapped "Southland" executive producer John Wells, a moderate, over "MASH" writer Elias Davis, who had been strongly supported by the former president Patric M. Verrone, who led the union during a 100-day strike.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Ken Howard (courtesy of Howard); Johnson (AP/Reed Saxon)

John Wells wins Writers Guild president's post, again

John Wells, the executive producer behind the hit TV shows "ER" and "The West Wing," has been elected for the second time as president of the Writers Guild of America, West, ending a tight race that brought to the surface sharp divisions inside the powerful writers union.

Wells, a former WGA president, defeated former "MASH" and "Frasier" writer Elias Davis, the union's secretary treasurer who had been endorsed by the outgoing president, Patric M. Verrone, who led the union during a 100-day strike that ended last year.

Wells backed the writers strike but criticized outgoing leadership for alienating the directors union, waging an unsuccessful campaign to organize workers in the reality TV sector and adopting overly confrontational tactics with industry executives. A powerful figure in the television industry, Wells, also an executive producer on "Southland," was favored to win because of his name recognition and past experience as union president, between 1999 and 2001.

Still, the contest was closer than many expected, thanks to aggressive campaigning by Davis and his supporters who sought to portray Wells as someone who couldn't be trusted to stand up for writers because of his ties to studio management and his role during last year's strike. Wells keeps an office on the Warner Bros. lot. Supporters countered that his knowledge of the industry and negotiating skills would be an asset to the 8,000-member union.

In one of the more ugly exchanges during the election, Verrone and John F. Bowman, former head of the union's chief negotiation committee, openly accused Wells of undermining negotiations last year by  engaging in secret talks with the Directors Guild of America. Wells called the allegations "false and ludicrous." He and  Bowman later declared a truce, and chalked the whole thing up to a big misunderstanding.

Both candidates drew high-level endorsements. Wells' backers included "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry; Bill Condon, who wrote and directed the movie "Dreamgirls"; and Robert King, one of the founding members of the Writers United group, which swept Verrone into office four years ago on a campaign to unify the guild and adopt a tougher stance in negotiations with the studios. Davis' supporters included "Crash" writer-director Paul Haggis, "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan, the late "Tootsie" and "MASH" writer Larry Gelbart and many of the strike captains who successfully rallied the union's rank-and-file during last year's walkout.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo (top): John Wells. Credit: Jill Connelly / Associated Press

Photo (bottom): Elias Davis. Credit: Elias Davis

WGA's John Wells and John Bowman decide to hug it out

The two Johns have made peace.

John Bowman, who was chairman of the negotiating committee for the Writers Guild of America, West, last year, and union presidential candidate John Wells have ended an ugly feud.

In a letter to members last week, Bowman and outgoing President Patric Verrone had accused Wells of keeping the union leadership in the dark about his dealings with the Directors Guild of America and undermining their own negotiating efforts. Bowman and Verrone are backing Elias Davis, who is running against Wells in a tight contest.

But in a joint statement, made during a candidates forum Wednesday night, the men chalked up their dispute to an "honest misunderstanding between friends" and said they were eager to move on for the sake of fostering unity in the guild.

Bowman acknowledged that "of course we knew that John was talking to the DGA" but that the men had an "honest misunderstanding" over what the scope of his talks would be. "But he is still my friend, I still like and respect him,'' Bowman said.

For his part, Wells said he had nothing but "friendship and respect" for Bowman and Verrone, adding that "we've all been through too much together to let one misunderstanding get in the way of that."

So how come the two candidates, who were jabbing at each other just a few days ago, now are going all lovey-dovey? Well, according to people close to the matter, Bowman and Wells realized the dispute was an unseemly display of disunity that was hurting the guild's image -- and threatened to become a distracting sideshow in the election. 

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Left: Bowman (Spencer Weiner, Los Angeles Times); right; Wells (Getty Images).