Q & A: How a writers strike would play out

By Scott J. Wilson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 2, 2007

If there's a strike, what writers would be involved?

The nearly 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America, who write primarily for television shows and movies.

What writers are not involved?

Writers for commercials, sports programs and reality TV, who are not covered under the guild contract.

What about writers for animated productions?

This is a gray area. Although the Writers Guild has contracts for prime-time animated TV shows including "The Simpsons," most animated features are covered under Animation Guild Local 839, which is part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Some writers for these animated shows belong to both unions.

A dual member who chooses to work under the Animation Guild agreement would be crossing the picket line in the eyes of the Writers Guild, risking fines and loss of membership. The IATSE says it is prepared to take legal action if the Writers Guild prohibits its members from working on animated features.

If there's a strike, will writers be able to finish their current projects?

The guild says that striking writers must "immediately" stop writing for all the major studios and production companies and cannot begin any new project while on strike.

Could a striking writer talk to studios about projects?

Not under guild rules. The guild says striking writers must not negotiate or discuss current or future writing projects with a company that is a target of the strike, which includes most studios and networks. Striking writers also may not sign or deliver documents related to a writing assignment or sell or option a script.

What about "spec" scripts already submitted?

The guild says that once a strike begins, writers should ask studios to return their "spec literary material."

What about writers who also work as producers and directors?

Writer-directors and writer-producers -- also known as hyphenates -- would be allowed to do "non-writing" during a strike, although there's considerable disagreement over how this is defined.

The guild says "writing services" include cutting a production for time, making changes in technical or stage directions, reassigning lines because of cast changes and making casual, minor adjustments in dialogue or narration just before or during a shoot. But the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and networks, say all of those are "non-writing services."

What if a Writers Guild member continues to work during the strike?

The guild constitution says that such a member "may be suspended, declared not in good standing, expelled from membership in the Guild, be asked to resign, be censured, fined or otherwise disciplined, or any combination of the foregoing."

But producers note that federal law gives union members the right to continue to work without the threat of fines if they resign full membership in the union and instead elect "financial core" status. In this situation, the writer would pay equivalent dues and fees as a member but would not have any guild voting rights.

What if a nonunion writer crosses the picket line?

The Writers Guild says it "can and will bar that writer from future Guild membership." But such writers would have a legal right to work under financial core status.

Daytime Serial Compensation

WGA Proposal: Further increase breakdown minimums and add the breakdown minimum to the script minimum where no breakdown is provided to the script writer.

Current Provision/Practice: The current breakdown minimum is approximately 50% of the script minimum, but there is no requirement that a breakdown be provided to the script writer.

Background: Breakdowns are more important to the process then they used to be, yet compensation still lags significantly behind that paid for scripts. In addition, a Company should not be able to realize a financial gain by eliminating the breakdown and have the additional work be performed by the script writer without further compensation.

True. There are mechanisms in place to find and fine scabs. They will, as they were last time, be banned from all future WGA work.

The WGA can even fine people who aren't a member of the Guild?

Better to write your own project, put it out there in your own non-union way, say, on youtube. The venues are out there if you've really got the guts. There's absolutely nothing stopping you. You want to write for soaps, pay your dues the way the guild writers have. Write plays, write spec scripts, write. If you are any good, you'll rise to the top.

Observing this industry for as long as I have, the best(in terms of Head-Writers at least) are NEVER given a fair shot. They just recycle the same old writers over and over. Some of the best HW with short stints have never been hired for that same position again(Christian McLaughlin, Karen Harris, Michele Val Jean).

BUT, I certainly see your point. I think anyone who even entertains the idea of writing in any visual medium should stay away from scabbing.

A strike is not an opportunity to take peoples' jobs. That makes you a scumbag. And if you're non-union or a scab, you'll just be a broke scumbag.

Yikes...scumbag...that's kind of harsh.

^I wonder how different Y&R would be if Bill Bell were still alive (a lot different, I know). He never listened to CBS or Sony and always did his own thing. Pretty sad that we don't have anyone with that kind of power in daytime anymore.

I think JER writes whatever he wants for Passions since it his show. I don't think he listens to anyone and Passions is his vision.

Edited November 4, 200718 yr by skiman12082004

I've heard ATWT has scripts finished until January.

Here's a lovely bit of depressing news to add:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-stri...=la-home-center

Complicating the situation for the studios is the threat of the powerful Teamsters joining the fray. If the Teamsters' 4,500 truck drivers, casting directors and location managers refuse to cross picket lines, that would cause an immediate disruption, increasing the writers' leverage. For example, drivers might refuse to deliver lighting and camera equipment needed at a studio set or on location.

Teamsters Local 399 leader Leo Reed this week urged his members to honor the picket lines, a call that was reiterated Thursday by Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. "If we abandon our union brothers and sisters now, we abandon the very core principles of trade unionism," he said.

Isn't this GREAT, just as P&G is getting into routine location shoots?

Only Wendy??

You too, Jan Brady!

Isn't this GREAT, just as P&G is getting into routine location shoots?

PGP has nothing to worry about unless its people who are directors...

When GL moved into its smaller, more cramped studio in 2005-06, they ditched all their lighting/tech folks for those who were non-union. I'm sure ATWT is going to do the same thing when they change their production shedule, regardless if there's a strike.

ALSO...don't forget they said lighting equipment to locations AND studios. Meaning, if the camera and tech people don't show up to shoot, regardless if there are scabs to write soaps, there will still be no soaps.

And all those stockpiled scripts will be a moot point!

Edited November 4, 200718 yr by bellcurve

Per stenbeck's LATimes Article

The studios were also telling writers they could continue to work and collect a paycheck during a strike.

"Federal law guarantees your right to work during a strike," stated a six-page letter distributed this week by Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Studios. "We encourage writers to work."

How do you WORK when you strike? How does that make any sense? Isn't that the whole point of a union?

This could only cause a divide between the union if some of their members cross the picket line.

The letter also said that writers could be replaced.

What it mean Days will continue to air or canceled

Apparently, Greg Vaughan and Kelly Monaco had a PA in NYC today (and Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson and Sebastian Roché and Ignacio Serricchio have PAs there tomorrow), and one of the recaps said that Kelly said she has some scripts for January.

So if that recap is accurate, it sounds like ABC had a contingency plan in place.

Edited November 4, 200718 yr by Wendy

Most, if not all, soaps have scripts written for January episodes.

I will write "Guiding Light" seriously, I'll write it!

Judging by your picture *tagline* I'd be okay with that!

Apparently, Greg Vaughan and Kelly Monaco had a PA in NYC today (and Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson and Sebastian Roché and Ignacio Serricchio have PAs there tomorrow), and one of the recaps said that Kelly said she has some scripts for January.

So if that recap is accurate, it sounds like ABC had a contingency plan in place.

Having scripts written for January doesn't sound like much of a contingency plan. That's only two months away, and soaps usually shut down production for at least a week over the holidays. Maybe they won't this year, but my point is that it won't take ANY soap long to eat through the scripts that are already written.

Having scripts written for January doesn't sound like much of a contingency plan. That's only two months away, and soaps usually shut down production for at least a week over the holidays. Maybe they won't this year, but my point is that it won't take ANY soap long to eat through the scripts that are already written.

I think we're in for a lot of padding, lots of flashbacks.