Writers Guild Seeks Strike Authorization from Members

LOS ANGELES, October 2: The leaders of the Writers Guild of
America West and Writers Guild of America East have sent letters to their
members seeking authorization to call a strike at “the most advantageous
moment” after their current contract expires October 31.

If the WGA does proceed with a strike, it would be the first
industry walkout to hit Hollywood since 1988. The union has been negotiating a
new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
(AMPTP), but talks have stalled over the issue of residual payments to writers
for broadcasts of TV shows and films following their initial linear runs.

Among WGA’s demands is that home video residual formula
double from 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent for the first $1 million in reportable
gross, and from 0.36 percent to 0.72 percent for over $1 million. These
percentages were negotiated in 1985. In addition, WGA proposes that all TV and
theatrical content earn a residual payment of 2.5 percent of the distributor’s
gross for use on new-media platforms. At present, there is no residual payment
for free streaming online. The WGA says on its website: “We insist that re-use
of our content in any medium most be fairly compensated… We have researched the
growth of revenue streams from the re-use of our content on nontraditional
media and know that the AMPTP companies are taking in billions of dollars in
new-media revenues. We will not accept the arguments about “unproven business
model” that were used in the home-video negotiations [in the 1980s] to deprive
us of a fair share of revenues from this incredibly lucrative exploitation of
our work.”

The WGA maintains that since talks
began in July, the AMPTP has “refused to engage in serious negotiations.
Instead, they have rejected each of our
proposals and responded with a “comprehensive” proposal of their own:
thirty-two pages of draconian rollbacks that would eviscerate virtually every
gain that writers have made in the past 50 years.”

Talks are scheduled to resume
between WGA and AMPTP on Thursday and the union says that it is “hopeful that
we can negotiate a good deal without a strike.”