THR Illustration / Charley Gallay/Getty Images
The Writers Guild of America, in its latest strike-time members update, proposes that studio member companies of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers exit the organization and negotiate individual agreements with the union.
As negotiations appear to continue to stall, the WGA’s bargaining committee told members in an update Friday that behind-the-scenes discussions with individual executives at the old studio during the strike had demonstrated a “desire and willingness to negotiate an agreement the authors adequately considered”. ‘ Issues.” The negotiating committee added, “These same leaders — and others — have said they are willing to negotiate proposals that the AMPTP has put to the public as deal-breakers.” On every single issue we ask , at least one former studio executive told us he could accommodate us.”
Union leaders then floated the idea that member companies should withdraw from the AMPTP, whose members include the production affiliates of Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and others, and negotiate their own deals with the WGA. “We have made it clear that we will negotiate with one or more of the major studios outside the boundaries of the AMPTP to finalize the new WGA contract. There is no obligation for companies to negotiate the AMPTP,” the negotiating committee wrote. They also suggested that “economic destabilization” or “Wall Street” during strike times could persuade companies to pursue this strategy.
reached out to AMPTP for comment.
The negotiations also warned members that the AMPTP will “try to sow doubt and internal dissent until there is a breakthrough”. WGA executives argued that instead, member companies “should take control of the AMPTP process themselves or decide to enter into a separate deal. Then a solution to the strike is within reach.”
About 11,500 WGA members have been on strike against AMPTP member companies for about 130 days. According to recent data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 17,000 entertainment industry jobs were lost due to the writers’ strike, combined with an ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike affecting industry artists. Industry workers are at risk of eviction notices and, in some cases, are living in cars and with their families while work disruptions drag on, Keith McNutt, executive director of the Entertainment Community Fund for the western region, recently told THR.
Read the message below.
DEAR MEMBERS,
We know people are anxious to hear about the state of negotiations – and how difficult it can be to stay strong in times of silence – prompted by recent attempts by companies to bypass the negotiating committee and sow confusion , only amplifies the narrative. What follows is an update on where we are and how we got here. We’re sharing things we haven’t shared before, including conversations with individual executives that illustrate that some of the companies already see a path to a deal, while other members of the AMPTP aren’t quite there yet.
In the 130 days since the WGA strike began, the AMPTP has made only one proposal to the WGA, on August 11th. Since then, the companies have not moved away from this proposal, although the WGA itself presented our own counter-proposal to the AMPTP on August 15th. The current standstill is not a sign of corporate power, but of AMPTP paralysis.
The studios and streamers negotiating the AMPTP have different business models and interests, as well as different histories and relationships with unions. They are competitors in every way unless they join forces to deal with Hollywood workers. Through the AMPTP, these legacy studios and streamers are negotiating as a united front, allowing hardliners to dictate the course of action for all companies. The AMPTP purports to represent all of these diverse corporate interests, but in practice it administers a system that favors inflexibility over compromise and sacrifices the interests of individual companies in reaching an agreement. This regression to the hardest line has led to the first simultaneous strikes since 1960.
In contrast, in the weeks since SAG-AFTRA went on strike, in one-on-one meetings with legacy studio executives, we have heard both a desire and a willingness to negotiate an agreement that properly addresses the writers’ issues. One executive said they reviewed our suggestions and while they were not committed to any specific deal, they said our suggestions had no impact on their company’s bottom line and that they recognized they had to give more than usual, to settle these negotiations. Another said they desperately needed a deal. The same executives – and others – have said they are willing to negotiate on proposals that the AMPTP has presented to the public as dealbreakers. For every single topic we ask about, at least one former studio executive has told us they could accommodate us.
So while the inflexibility of the AMPTP structure hampers progress, these behind-the-scenes conversations show that there is a fair deal that addresses our issues. Given the huge economic impact of the strikes on the legacy companies, it’s not surprising that individual studios are interested in a deal. Warner Bros. confirmed this just this week in a public financial report.
We have made it clear that we will negotiate with one or more of the major studios outside the boundaries of the AMPTP to finalize the new WGA contract. There is no obligation for companies to negotiate the AMPTP. So if the economic destabilization of their own companies isn’t enough to get one or two or three studios to either advance their own interests within the AMPTP or break away from the broken AMPTP model, maybe Wall Street will finally get them to do it it.
Until there is a breakthrough, the companies and AMPTP will try to sow doubt and internal dissent within the guild. Keep your radar high. If companies, through proxies or the press, send messages about the unreasonableness of your guild leadership, consider those messages to be part of a malicious effort to influence negotiations, rather than objective truth.
The companies know the truth: they have to negotiate if they want to end the strike. They may not like it – they may try to hide it – but they know it. As they wrestle with this fact and with each other, they will continue to try to make writers settle for less than we need and deserve, and to encourage us to negotiate with ourselves. But we won’t do that.
Instead, those companies within the AMPTP that want a fair deal with the authors must take control of the AMPTP process themselves or opt for a separate deal. Then a solution to the strike is within reach.
We understand how painful this time is for everyone. We are all tired and hurt and afraid. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. Optimism about a return to negotiations was met with a sharp reminder of how difficult the process can be. We share the frustration at how long companies are extending the strike and remain committed to negotiating a fair solution as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, as always, you can find your negotiating committee and your board and council members on the picket lines. If there is something important to report, we will write again.
SOLIDARIC,
WGA NEGOTIATION COMMITTEE