http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/writ...e-illegal-move/

Write Move? Wrong Move? Illegal Move?

Few issues divided the WGA more than the leadership's post-strike publication on April 18th of the names of its 28 members who went fi-core during the strike. After the WGA's solidarity during the strike itself, I was flabbergasted by the huge schism which WGA West president Patric Verrone and WGA East president Michael Winship created with their letter. It turns out that the AMPTP took advantage of the discord and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, which has now sided with the Hollywood CEO negotiating clique against the WGA.

The NLRB focused on one sentence in that WGA statement: "...this handful of members who went financial core, resigning from the union yet continuing to receive the benefits of a union contract, must be held at arm's length by the rest of us and judged accountable for what they are -- strikebreakers whose actions placed everything for which we fought so hard at risk." Was this the WGA urging members to shun the "puny few", most of whom were soap opera producer-writers? So now the NLRB ruling, which overturned a earlier decision in favor of the WGA by the labor body's regional director, results in a hearing before an administrative law judge in Los Angeles sometime in the next few months. The WGA had this statement: "This is a pending legal matter and the Guild will defend itself fully at the NLRB hearing."

You may recall that during the strike, the AMPTP posted on its website details explaining how WGA members could go fi-core. The AMPTP's complaint to the NLRB claimed that the WGA was lobbying for a "prohibited retaliation" against its fi-core writers for exercising their rights and seeking to prevent them from securing work. The WGA in turn accused the AMPTP of meddling in its internal affairs.

Meanwhile, I hear that the WGA in coming weeks will decide what to do about members accused of strikebreaking who've been quietly brought before the guild to explain themselves for months and months now. I have been quietly following several of these cases, and waiting for their resolutions, before going public with my info.

Well I am on the side of the Fi Core members as everyone well knows. Without them these shows would have just died. I think they're heroes and although everyone disagrees with me that's how I feel. Those who went Fi Core did it legally and honestly.

Edited November 25, 200817 yr by DaytimeFan

Well I am on the side of the Fi Core members as everyone well knows. Without them these shows would have just died. I think they're heroes and although everyone disagrees with me that's how I feel. Those who went Fi Core did it legally and honestly.

Actually, if you go to the Nikki Finke site, and follow the link to the original post (about who went FiCore), you'll see over 100 comments. Most of those comments...largely by writers...are quite understanding of the soap ficores.

Summarizing those opinions: (a) soaps are a dying genre; ( soap writers are not the huge earners, and ( the key issues behind the strike (i.e., internet residuals) aren't really a big deal for soaps.

I'm not really expressing an opinion here...I'm clearly ambivalent...but it is fair to say not EVERYONE disagrees with you.

The funny thing is understand why soap writers had to go fi-core. Daytime is a dying industry and might not be around in a few years. It was different for primetime writers/films where DVD residuals/streaming residuals were key to strike but not key for daytime writers. I admire those who stuck it out. The ones that kept their status were Ron Carlivati, David Kriezman, Jean Passanante and a few others. You cannot fault the others that needed to do this. I mean this is the worst economy in decades with huge levels of unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy and repos. Especially since that the WGA was fighting for does not pertain to daytime writers.

Well I am on the side of the Fi Core members as everyone well knows. Without them these shows would have just died. I think they're heroes and although everyone disagrees with me that's how I feel. Those who went Fi Core did it legally and honestly.

I totally agree with you.

Well I am on the side of the Fi Core members as everyone well knows. Without them these shows would have just died. I think they're heroes and although everyone disagrees with me that's how I feel. Those who went Fi Core did it legally and honestly.

I don't disagree. Daytime would have died if it weren't for these wonderful, wonderful people, and some shows - such as Y&R and to a lesser extent B&B - benefited from the strike.

Those who went Fi Core did it legally and honestly.

And now they're going to legally and honestly be held responsible for it. I can see where you're coming from but if I'd been freezing my butt off on the picket line there's no way I could look at someone who went Fi-Core with the same respect.

The people who went on strike and picketed made the decision they felt was best for them. The people who went Fi-Core made the decision that they felt was best for them. Judging someone else for not making the same choice as you did is ridiculous and petty. It's ass backwards... "Here are your two options, but we'll make sure we make you feel like scum if you pick one over the other..."

THEN DON'T PUT THE OPTION ON THE TABLE!

The people who went on strike and picketed made the decision they felt was best for them. The people who went Fi-Core made the decision that they felt was best for them. Judging someone else for not making the same choice as you did is ridiculous and petty. It's ass backwards... "Here are your two options, but we'll make sure we make you feel like scum if you pick one over the other..."

THEN DON'T PUT THE OPTION ON THE TABLE!

You said it yourself. Everybody did what they felt was best and I believe that grown adults should always be given choices but with choices come consequences.

The people on the picket line had to deal with the consequences of that choice and the Fi-Cores have to do the same. It's not about judging people for not making the same decision, its about the fact that the fi-cores didn't risk what other union members did so they aren't entitled to the same benefits.

I think it's just turning into a damn witch hunt. I love writing and that's first and foremost with me. I'm not a professional writer or a guild member, so I don't necessarily know what choice I would've made if I were in that position and if I were in that position, what factors would be present at that time to influence my decision. But I will say this, if this is not about the art or the work, but about who sided with the popular crowd and who didn't, then I say they all should restrict the Fi-Core writers from receiving any benefits from this latest strike/negotiation and any others in the future, and be done with it. You don't light the fuse and then get mad at the dynamite.

I am so anti union it's not even funny, and the writers strike is no different to me, so this is sort of bizarre coming from me. Those who went on strike bore financial consequences for a principle, and to garner contract concessions for the future. As is almost always the case, many of those who went on strike will never receive the benefits that came out of those negotiations. The purpose of the strike was to force the corporations to divide the financial pie more equitably among the writers, and while that goal was achieved, the pie shrunk and there are also now fewer people among whom to divide it. Many writers lost their jobs, perhaps permanently, and in fact, many writing positions were eliminated, so there are fewer jobs to vy for.

So while it is correct to say that those writers who went fi-core made a decision that was legal, albeit self serving, in the name of fairness it hardly seems right that they will reap the benefits of the bargaining tool, which they refused to participate and make the sacrifice to earn said benefits. JMO, but something about this is just offensive to my sense of fairness.

But I will say this, if this is not about the art or the work, but about who sided with the popular crowd and who didn't, then I say they all should restrict the Fi-Core writers from receiving any benefits from this latest strike/negotiation and any others in the future, and be done with it. You don't light the fuse and then get mad at the dynamite.

In a sense I agree. Kick the Fi-Cores out of the guild and be done with it. The stigma of what they did will follow them into future jobs regardless of what the Guild does so they're essentially blacklisted anyway. (I know that if I were a showrunner I wouldn't hire one) and this is turning into quite the administrative mess. Cut them loose.

At least the fi-core writers were honest about it. What about all the soap writers who walked the picket lines during the day and then went home to finish off their scripts that were due the next day?

Barbara Esensten & James Harmon Brown didn't write AMC by themselves. Garin Wolfe and Michael Conforti didn't write GH by themselves. There were more people writing scripts at OLTL than just Michelle Poteet Lisanti and Jeanne Marie Ford.

I remember one interview with Michelle Patrick where she said that she had been approached by a show on another network that asked her to secretly write for them. She said no. But I'm sure for everyone like her that said no there was another writer who agreed to work in the darkness for a show.

Those people I have a problem with.

At least the fi-core writers were honest about it. What about all the soap writers who walked the picket lines during the day and then went home to finish off their scripts that were due the next day?

Barbara Esensten & James Harmon Brown didn't write AMC by themselves. Garin Wolfe and Michael Conforti didn't write GH by themselves. There were more people writing scripts at OLTL than just Michelle Poteet Lisanti and Jeanne Marie Ford.

I remember one interview with Michelle Patrick where she said that she had been approached by a show on another network that asked her to secretly write for them. She said no. But I'm sure for everyone like her that said no there was another writer who agreed to work in the darkness for a show.

Those people I have a problem with.

I wholeheartedly agree. I actually wished the shows had stopped production rather than let situations like the ones you mentioned develop. Because now there's no way to ever know who sold out.

At least the fi-core writers were honest about it. What about all the soap writers who walked the picket lines during the day and then went home to finish off their scripts that were due the next day?

Honest or "in your face". At least those who refused to do their work in the light of day recognized that they were crossing a line, and were trying to avoid the consequences. The fi-core writers thumbed their noses at the strikers. I don't have any respect for either.