Weekend Post -- The WGA-Agencies Dispute & WGA election

A number of you have asked what my position is on the dispute between the WGA and talent/literary agencies. Also my thoughts on the current election of WGA officers – an election that will be decided based on the members feelings of that standoff and the way it’s being handled.

So here’s my position. 

The Guild is trying to do a heroic thing – get major agencies to stop making more money off their writer clients than the writers are making themselves. By cleverly instituting “package deals” the agencies get a bigger share of the pie than writers despite the fact that the writers do all the work. And some agencies have formed their own production companies. Can you see where that might be a huge conflict of interest? If an agent is negotiating a deal for you at their production company the agent is negotiating against himself.

Writers now work for agencies instead of the other way around.  

A similar situation occurred in the 1960’s when talent agency MCA also owned Universal. Then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy said that was illegal and broke it up. (The company chose to keep the studio and unload the agency -- a wise choice.) The WGA is going to Federal Court to try to get the same result. I believe they have a good case. But it might take some time.

What’s happened so far? First, let me back up. When whatever form of “management” there is in show business – either the studios, networks, or in this case agencies – WANTS to make a deal then deals get done. And they get done quickly. When they don’t want a deal and think freezing out the writers will force them to cave then there is no deal. Negotiations in that case are a sham. And that’s what these negotiations have been so far. Sabre rattling, blaming the other side, stonewalling.

Let’s say this goes to court and it looks like the WGA will win. The agencies will want to get back to the bargaining table and make a deal so fast your head will spin.

What the WGA is attempting is unprecedented. Make no mistake, it’s a David & Goliath situation. The only possible leverage the Guild has is withholding services to the agencies. Staffing season and development went on this year without the agencies. New deals that are being made without agencies mean they are not entitled to commissions. That’s a nice 10% bonus to the writer. And no package deals to boot.

What happens when the industry discovers it can function without agencies? It might not function as well but the gears keep turning. Playing this out is not necessarily a bad thing.

Personally, I wish it could be resolved in a timely manner. I have lots of friends on both sides. I love my agent and appreciate all that he’s done for me. But for us to go back to the bargaining table now would be a huge sign of weakness and we might as well just run up a white flag.

There is a faction of the WGA that wants to do just that. They naively feel a deal can be reached by being "reasonable."  History has taught us otherwise. The way the industry has screwed writers for decades  has taught us otherwise.  And yet (another history lesson) they want to be Neville Chamberlain.  He brought "Peace in his time."  Yeah, how did that work out?

Sometimes you have to sacrifice. I’ve been through numerous lengthy strikes. They're not fun and they eat through your savings and you have to hold off buying that house.  But writers before me suffered so that I could enjoy residuals, health care, and a pension. It’s my obligation to fight on behalf of future generations of writers.

Whenever there’s a difficult situation like this there is always the faction of writers who want to settle. They don’t want to be inconvenienced, they don’t want their paycheck to be affected. The issue at hand might not immediately benefit them personally so screw it. Studios, networks, and now agencies are hoping that contingent gets large enough that they’ll force the Guild to settle. Why was there no strike the last time the WGA dealt with studios? Because well over 90% voted to authorize a strike. If 60% had authorized it we would have come away with nothing probably after a four month work stoppage.

Solidarity is NEEDED. And granted, it’s hard when you have TV writers and feature writers and hyphenates. Not all writers are on the same career path. We’re not longshoremen. But feature writers struck in the early ‘60s for residuals for TV writers. We NEED to stick together. If not, that’s how management breaks unions. And if there was no union protecting writers studios would be paying $100 for feature scripts (and desperate writers would take it).

Like I said, there is an election going on. For all WGA writers, I urge you to stay the course. Agencies won’t go back to the bargaining table because there’s a new friendlier regime. They’ll go back because the Guild stands by its current leaders and they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Was this the right course of action? I don’t know. This is all uncharted territory. But the only way we’ll know is if we play it out. If you’re a WGA member, this is the slate I urge you to vote for:

David A. Goodman for President
Marjorie David for Vice President
Michele Mulroney for Secretary-

For the Board of Directors:

Liz Alper
Angelina Burnett
Robb Chavis
Dante Harper
Zoe Marshall
Luvh Rakhe
Meredith Stiehm
Nicole Yorkin

Remember, deals ONLY get done when management feels the pinch enough to want to make a deal. And when that happens, as if by magic, deals get done quickly. No posturing, no bullshit. Let’s not make it easier for them.

Thank you.