Writers union feeling the heat

The Writers Guild of America is under new and mounting pressure from its ranks to get back to the bargaining table.

A number of union members are unhappy that the negotiations with the major Hollywood studios that broke off Friday night were sidetracked by issues secondary to the one the writers see as central: how they will be paid when their work shows up on the Internet.

Six weeks into a costly strike, they're pressing union leaders to get the talks back on track -- and fast -- fearful that the Directors Guild of America might open its own contract negotiations with the Hollywood studios as early as next week.

That could undermine the writers' leverage, because the directors might not make all the demands that the writers have made. The writers don't want another union to set their agenda.

Among the writers urging fresh talks are some of the guild's most powerful members, those responsible for the day-to-day operations of popular TV shows, which are quickly running out of original episodes.
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More news on the strike

--Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller

Comments

[fly]

From the current news in most of the media, it seems the writers were led into a strike, not to benefit the writers, but to make the union more powerful. Is this true, or just the media undermining the strike. If this is the case, its liable to have a very ugly ending. Maybe the next theme day can have a Goofy, clown, or even a 3 stooges theme.

[JimBob]

This notion of internal pressure is bunk. Maybe two months from now, or more. But it simply hasn't happened yet. The media companies spread this kind of misinformation and the Times is glad to echo it without doing the research that would show how untrue it is.

[Tweety]

This report is total nonsense and shows the LA Times' lack of truthful reporting. If only the LA Times could report as good at the one-person operation of Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily.

[JamesP]

Disagreement and disappointment with WGA strike strategy and tactics is very much on the minds of my WGA-member friends. They can't believe the way this whole thing is being conducted. In fact, they're shocked that it supposedly came to this in the first place. They question the motives of WGA management and believe this strike could have been avoided.

The notion that all WGA writers can hold out for months is ludicrous. A speedy end is not negotiable, it's a necessity. Blaming every voice of internal dissent on the media is like saying writers have no individual brains, no unique concerns and cannot think for themselves. Dissenters are not a mouthpiece for the other side. From what I hear, WGA members are united as far as it goes, but however far that is, it had better be just over the horizon.

[TV writer]

was really shocked by the shoddy reporting you have on page one today!

"WRITERS UNION FEELING THE HEAT"

First off, misleading headline. Nowhere in the article do you explain how the union is "feeling any heat" for its stance on reality and animation. Next, you have no quotes to back up your theory that there's any significant dissension amongst guild members. You mention one person's blog. Everyone else is "off the record." Many members are aangry about this issue, and not one is willing to go on the record? At best, this is shoddy reporting. At worst, its propaganda whipsered into your ear by AMPTP sources. It's what we expect out of Variety, not the LA Times.

I was interviewed by Maria Elena Fernandez for this article. She said she had heard that there was dissension in the WGA membership about the reality/animation issue. I told her that as someone who pickets everyday and talks to dozens of writers all the time, I have detected ZERO dissension about this issue. It's a trumped up "wedge issue" propogated by the AMPTP and their PR firms. I also said that I've never been more proud of my guild as I am now. Maria thanked me for my time. Not only did my quote not appear, but you didn't even address the notion that writers are solidly behind the guild.

The article was filled with unsubstantiated innuendo. Isn't it journalism 101 to get people on the record? Normally, I wouldn't care about lousy reporting. But you're letting your paper do the bidding of Fabiani & Lehane. You're allowing yourselves to become part of the story.

Since the Times is owned by a Big Media concern with issues in front of the FCC and is a broadcast partner with Warner Bros., one could infer that your reporting is being influenced by your corporate ownership.

[samwright23]

I agree, this article couldn't be further from the truth. Just go to www.hollywoodunited.com and listen to United Hollywood Live (Podcast) on Mon, Wed, and Friday from 12pm-1pm Pacific/3-4pm Eastern and they will show you how united the writer are. Deadlinehollywooddaily.com is a MUCH better source of info...

and to "fly" I say...for someone a bit pessimistic about the strike you seem to follow it well...perhaps an AMPTP Corporation plant?

Rally and stuff are made to boost and increase not only moral, but support for the cause...and it works.

Raleigh, NC

[sam]

The AMPTP Mega Corporation IS the media, duh...

they only let us see they want us to see. why do you think media coverage on the strike is so minimial? so front page ads about it tend to be more from the AMPTP Mega Corporations point of view...not the writers and not the general publics.

[DGA/WGA member]

Seriously, Mr. Richard Verrier and Ms. Claudia Eller, how idiotic can your reporting be. Any half wit journalist would quickly discover that the AMPTP walked away from the negotiating table, not the WGA. So how can you write, "The Writers Guild of America is under new and mounting pressure from its ranks to get back to the bargaining table."

[Marc Guggenheim]

Wow.

Despite the article's general premise that "a number of union members are unhappy that the negotiations with the major Hollywood studios that broke off Friday night were sidetracked by issues secondary to the one the writers see as central," the article did not quote a single Guild member that supported the WGA's leadership. Was the membership of 12,000 writers so outraged that not a single one of them could be found to provide a counterpoint to Mr. Mazin and your anonymous sources' viewpoints?

Moreover, the negotiations didn't just "break off." The AMPTP unilaterally walked away -- a point that was obscured from the article's very first sentence: "The Writers Guild of America is under new and mounting pressure from its ranks to get back to the bargaining table." Get back to the bargaining table? The Guild never left it and it is libelous to suggest otherwise.

I'd think that journalistic ethics would motivate the LA Times to make sure that the paper remains unbiased and objective in its reporting. Barring that, because the Times' parent company, Tribune, owns 23 television stations, two cable channels and a television production company, one would expect the reporters and editors to go the extra mile to avoid even the appearance of bias in favor of the studios.

But I guess not.