'Playbooks Die Hard': WGA Approaches Big Friday Meeting With Wariness
'Our only playbook is getting people back to work,' studios respond
Tomorrow’s the day: The Writers Guild and the AMPTP are meeting on Friday to potentially reopen the contract talks that stalled out in early May, but the union is going in with some apparent skepticism, and some rather strong words.
This follows its previous communiqué Tuesday announcing that AMPTP pres and lead negotiator Carol Lombardini had reached out and requested a meeting. In a missive to its 11,500 or so members, the WGA’s negotiating committee said that it “won’t prejudge what’s to come” but added that “playbooks die hard,” and conveyed its memory of the last writers strike 15 years ago. According to the guild:
Here’s what happened in 2007/08: After negotiations broke off on October 31st causing the strike, they resumed in late November only to break off for a second time in December as the strike continued. Why? Because when the companies came back to the table they weren’t serious about addressing the WGA’s proposals. They called Guild leadership "out-of-touch". They waged a relentless campaign through the media and surrogates to spread dissent.
The guild also nodded to rumors that we addressed yesterday — namely, the whispers that certain entertainment companies might stray from the AMPTP herd and angle to ink deals with the union separately — and claimed any such gossip mill items are being spurred by the studios. (The timing of a side deal wouldn’t particularly make sense now that the AMPTP, which reps all the major studios and streamers, has reached out as a collective unit to the WGA for a meeting.)
Essentially, the WGA’s concern is that Friday’s meeting won’t be as productive as some around town hope it’ll be. The AMPTP responded with:
Tomorrow’s discussion with the WGA is to determine whether we have a willing bargaining partner. The WGA Bargaining Committee’s rhetoric is unfortunate.
This strike has hurt thousands of people in this industry, and we take that very seriously.
Our only playbook is getting people back to work.
So: a bit testy on both sides going into Friday. The writers I spoke to yesterday are resolved to keep on walking until the studios start talking in a way that seems productive.
Not that you needed a reminder, but we’re officially on Day 94 of the WGA strike (and Day 21 of the SAG-AFTRA strike), which means that both parties are meeting tomorrow for the first time in three months. It’ll likely take more than one meeting to thaw out relations — and certainly more than one to stamp out a new deal.
Here’s the full message to WGA membership:
DEAR MEMBERS,
We have been on strike for 94 days. SAG-AFTRA joined us 21 days ago. Both our unions are striking to ensure the future of writers and performers in this business that cannot exist without us.
Every step of the way through this struggle, the AMPTP has run its tired anti-union playbook straight out of the 2007/08 strike.
We first talked to you about this in May when the AMPTP was attempting to divide and conquer labor by refusing to negotiate, and going first to the DGA and then to SAG-AFTRA to try to make deals they would then attempt to force on writers, regardless of our needs.We know how that went.
Now, two unions are on strike and the industry is three months into a shutdown that is causing delay after delay to TV and movies. It is obviously past time for the companies to get a new playbook–one that recognizes the legitimate issues that caused these strikes and takes steps to address them.
But we have been down this road before.
Here’s what happened in 2007/08: After negotiations broke off on October 31st causing the strike, they resumed in late November only to break off for a second time in December as the strike continued. Why? Because when the companies came back to the table they weren’t serious about addressing the WGA’s proposals. They called Guild leadership "out-of-touch". They waged a relentless campaign through the media and surrogates to spread dissent.
We won’t prejudge what’s to come. But playbooks die hard. So far, the companies have wasted months on their same failed strategy. They have attempted, time and time again, through anonymous quotes in the media, to use scare tactics, rumors and lies to weaken our resolve. Article after article has perpetuated a myth that the strike has no impact because streaming services have libraries and some product in the pipeline. Pundits quoting studio executives claim that the strike is good for the companies financially and that they will be happy to have it extend into 2024 so they can write off their losses.
This is calculated disinformation about the real impact of the ongoing strikes. We have shut down production. Union writers and actors are so essential in this industry that the companies cannot even attempt to do the work without us. It is not a viable business strategy for these companies to shut down their business for three months and counting no matter how much they try and pretend it is.
The rumors of backchannel talks were rampant this week, entirely driven by management, and only because they see it as a useful tactic. Give the town hope, soften us up, and try to use the suffering of other workers and businesses to pressure us to settle. Get us to throw away the power we have collectively accumulated and make us accept a bad deal. It is all part of the playbook. Every move they make at the bargaining table and every rumor away from it needs to be evaluated through the lens of their attempts to get us to accept less.
We’re not falling for it. Writers — screenwriters, Appendix A writers, episodic television writers, all writers — have marched together for 94 days now. We have struck to make writing a viable profession for all of us, now and in the future. We have not come all this way, and sacrificed this much, to half-save ourselves.
Therefore, we challenge the studios and AMPTP to come to the meeting they called for this Friday with a new playbook: Be willing to make a fair deal and begin to repair the damage your strikes and your business practices have caused the workers in this industry.
Until then, our fellow writers, we will see you on the lines.
In solidarity,
WGA NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE
Today in Strike News
During its Q2 earnings call today, Warner Bros. Discovery executives claimed that the double strike has saved them somewhere in the “low $100 million range,” and that their modeling “assumes a return-to-work date in early September.” (Variety)
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA’s outsized focus on the eight-figure pay of Hollywood CEOs could lead to a salary reduction for many studio chiefs in the coming years — and it’s already happened at Netflix. (The Hollywood Reporter)
In New York City, filming permits dropped over 65 percent year over year in July, with 260 issued this year compared to 757 last year. (Variety)
Though having clients and gigs outside the world of entertainment helps, stylists and event planners are suffering a blow not seen since COVID. “Unlike COVID, we do have non-SAG clients doing non-SAG things, and I have other projects I’m working on that are unrelated to styling, such as some brand deals, design collabs and writing projects,” says A-list stylist Ilaria Urbinati. “But we definitely haven’t been this slow since the pandemic and it does take a large toll.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Toy company Hasbro reduced its full-year revenue forecast today due to the strike’s impact on its entertainment branch, which includes the eOne film and TV studio that recently sold to Lionsgate. (CNBC)
Six current WGA members will each be awarded $10,000 in a new contest from the American Playwriting Foundation, which challenges scribes to craft a 10-minute play that revolves around the theme of picketing or striking. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Picket Scene of the Day
This is from Tuesday, but wanted to share my chat with Mayor of Burbank and card-carrying SAG-AFTRA member Konstantine Anthony, who attended the Universal rally in which sidewalk access to picketers was partially reinstated.
Additional reporting by Matthew Frank.
Disclosure: Elaine Low is an inactive SAG-AFTRA member.