In the middle of the action Writers Guild of America (WGA) Strike, the union leaders suggest that the studio member companies of the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) Break out of the organization and negotiate with them individually.
“[D]”In individual discussions with legacy studio executives in the weeks since the SAG-AFTRA strike, we have heard both a desire and a willingness to negotiate an agreement that adequately addresses the writers’ issues,” the WGA’s negotiating committee wrote in an email to members was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “One executive said they had reviewed our proposals and, although they had not committed to a specific deal, they said our proposals would not impact their company’s bottom line and that they recognized they would have to give more than usual to resolve these negotiations. Another said they urgently needed a deal. The same executives – and others – have said they are willing to negotiate on proposals that the AMPTP has presented to the public as deal breakers. For every single topic we ask about, at least one former studio head has told us they could accommodate us.”
There is “no obligation” to negotiate the AMPTP
The email continued: “Although the intransigence of the AMPTP structure is hindering progress, these behind-the-scenes conversations show that there is a fair deal that addresses our problems.” Given the huge economic impact of the strikes on the For old companies, the interest of individual studios in a deal is not surprising. Warner Bros. confirmed this in a public financial document just this week… We have made it clear that we will negotiate with one or more of the major studios outside the boundaries of the AMPTP to enter into the new WGA contract. There is no obligation for companies to negotiate the AMPTP. So if the economic destabilization of their own companies isn’t enough to get one or two or three studios to either advance their own interests within the AMPTP or break away from the broken AMPTP model, maybe Wall Street will finally get them to do it it.”
In the meantime, the WGA warns: “[u]Until there is a breakthrough, the companies and AMPTP will try to sow doubt and internal dissension within the guild. Keep your radar up. When the Corporations, through proxies or the press, send messages about the unreasonableness of your guild leadership, consider those messages as part of a malicious effort to influence negotiations, rather than as objective truth… The Corporations know the truth: they must negotiate if they do this want to end the strike. They may not like it – they may try to hide it – but they know it.”
The 2023 WGA strike is entering its fifth month
The WGA West and WGA East went on strike on May 2 after contract negotiations with the AMPTP (which represents all major Hollywood studios) collapsed. Four months and six days later, the AMPTP has yet to meet the WGA’s demands, which include better backlogs for streaming content, larger writers rooms and safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence.
Since July 14, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) has joined the WGA on the picket line after also voting to strike against the AMPTP. Similar to the authors, the actors are seeking better residuals and protections against AI, as well as greater regulation of self-tape castings. As of this writing, SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for one month, three weeks and four days.
Source : www.comingsoon.net