What a 'Best and Final' Offer Might Really Mean

➕ The writers and studios will meet for a fifth straight day of talks on Sunday

PICKET POWER Striking writers and actors outside CBS Radford on Sept. 18. (credit: Elaine Low)

There are things we know for sure about the state of talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and things we do not.

Things we know for sure:

1. The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining on Saturday and will meet again on Sunday. We know this because both parties released a joint statement this Saturday night that said, “The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining on Saturday and will meet again on Sunday.” Sunday marks the fifth straight day of negotiations since the writers and studios reignited talks, and Day 146 of the WGA strike.

2. There’s no deal yet. Various outlets report that the lawyers are going over the finer points of the deal, but inching closer to a deal doesn’t guarantee that one is happening this weekend.

Things that are up in the air:

1. What’s in the proposal from the studios. The trades report that the studios have presented the WGA with a “best and final offer,” following more back-and-forth on the issue of A.I., minimum staffing and success-based residuals. But the exact contents aren’t yet clear.

2. What a “best and final offer” really means here. For what it’s worth, the AMPTP did not respond to request for comment on whether this phrase was actually invoked. But if it was, we can take a look at other labor negotiations to get a sense of what the term “last, best and final offer” might mean in collective bargaining terms. (Labor lawyers, please feel free to chime in: elaine@theankler.com.)

   For instance: four years ago, the Chicago Federation of Musicians union rejected a LBFO from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (and the CSOA rejected the union’s counteroffer), which translated to a continuation of the strike. And in the recent negotiations between the University of Michigan and the Graduate Employees’ Organization, the university’s comms team offered a concrete definition for its “last, best and final offer” to the striking grad students:

   In collective bargaining, a “last, best, and final offer” is a formal proposal that one side presents to the other which includes all benefits and compromises. This is usually done to allow union members to vote to accept or reject an employer’s best-case proposal. It is the culmination of the collective bargaining process and indicates that no further negotiation will be undertaken.

It’s also worth pointing out that if the Writers Guild and studios were truly still far apart, and that any kind of ultimatum had been issued, there would be less of a likelihood that they would have issued a joint statement tonight. But that’s just reading the tea leaves. Suppose, at this stage, we’ll once again just have to see what tomorrow brings.

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ICYMI: Strike News

• A wealth of WGA members showed up on the picket lines Friday with a cautiously optimistic mindset. “I always feel good when they’re talking … the fact that they’ve been talking for three days straight is terrific,” said showrunner Marc Guggenheim. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• As many of the guild’s members struggle to make ends meet, the WGA is under some scrutiny for spending that includes $25,000 last December for a staff event at a high-end sushi restaurant. (The Messenger)

• Black writers are concerned that whenever they get back to work, the looming contractions are going to affect them the most. “There’s a track record of when there are disruptions within the industry and the industry starts to figure out who they are again — that writers of color and diversity-driven projects seem to disproportionately suffer,” says Ben Watkins, a WGA member and Hand of God executive producer. (Los Angeles Times)

• A group of Hollywood assistants put together an improv show called “Lunch Is Late” that not only generated donations for the Entertainment Community Fund, but also demonstrated the storytelling abilities of assistants and coordinators looking to eventually earn writing jobs. “We’re all funny and talented. But when you work these support staff jobs … most of your job is not writing or performing,” says Molly Kiernan, a script coordinator who co-produced the improv show. “You become bogged down, and especially times when you’re working a really busy job, you forget about your own talent.” (Los Angeles Times)

• Social media creators have continued to turn down work offered by studios, as the group remains in a tricky position regardless of whether they’re represented by SAG-AFTRA. “I have not seen an uptick in opportunities since the Hollywood strikes began,” says content creator Stephen Hart. “I am a member of SAG-AFTRA as well so it has been an interesting time. I fully support my union and the strikes, and I hope for fair deals for all. Throughout the strike some of the struck studios reached out about promotion of their shows. Obviously, I did not participate.” (Digiday)

• Though previously touted by NBCUniversal as Peacock’s top-performing comedy series when it was renewed, Pitch Perfect spinoff Bumper in Berlin has been canceled after falling behind on its planned pre-production timeline due to the strike. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Additional reporting for Today in Strike News by Matthew Frank.

Disclosure: Elaine Low is an inactive member of SAG-AFTRA.