Strike Ends

The strike is over by a 92.5 % vote. Showrunners were allowed to return to work yesterday, pending a positive outcome of the vote which happened today; the rest of the WGA writers will return to work on Wednesday.

I was pleased that Patric Verrone and the negotiating team allowed the membership to vote to lift the restraining order which sent the membership out on strike, even though their guild rules say the negotiating team can do so without a vote from the membership.

From what I heard of the deal presented to the membership Saturday night, it wasn't a great deal... I'm not even sure it was a good deal. It didn't seem like much better than the DGA deal, except for some window-dressing, and it seemed to lose sight in some areas that I don't think the DGA deal did.

However, it does come down to something Patric said when the strike started... when he took the DVD issue off the table to accommodate the AMPTP and they still walked: that it would come down to how much the membership was willing to fight for.

In an earlier post here, I talked about how much I admired Russell Means for standing up against bullets and possible death for his beliefs concerning his Native American people. I'm not sure I could suffer the pain of injury he went through nor the fright of possibly dying for a cause. So he looms large for me.

Here, writers were not facing bullets, but they were facing financial hardship and even ruin for themselves and many other people in the industry. So they have to decide how much they are willing to risk to keep fighting, will continuing the fight gain them more, and if the deal they got is good enough.

I don't think anyone likes the 17/24 free window in which the studios can run content, with paying adverts, without paying residuals, and I was surprised that the writers caved on this when Patric and others insisted that this was so bad in the DGA deal. I thought a much fairer window would be 7 days... like to the next episode of a series. Or to the next weekend premiere of a movie. That to me seems like real advertising. I'm surprised that the majority of writers figured in the end that three-four weeks was okay. Perhaps it was something that the studios wouldn't budge on, but I don't see that there was anything that they gave the writers in exchange.

But worse than that, in my opinion is the lack of a sympathy strike provision and the changing of the expiration date to May 1st which essentially takes away all future leverage of holding the Awards season and TV season hostage. If people thought that the studios and conglom owners could starve out the strikers now, then they have just given them the tools to starve workers out even better in the future. Strikes only work when THE SIDE BEING STRUCK HAS SOMETHING TO LOSE BY THE STRIKE and the change of expiration date takes away all the leverage the writers had. In three years, the writers and rest of the industry will be starved out long before the studios feel even the pinch that they felt today. But I know it's hard to suffer hardship now for a future day which may not come to pass. It requires fortitude and courage of the kind that people who shed their blood in the Revolutionary War and Civil War had, that all freedom fighters have.

Although I'm glad that they tried to get the sympathy strike clause, I never thought there was a snowball's chance in hell of them actually getting it. Just think, if all unions could have walked out at the same time, all the screens would go blank across this country. The moguls wouldn't know how to put a TV show physically on the air or have the time to drive each can of film to the theaters, let alone know how to thread it into the machines. How long would the strike have lasted then? That kind of solidarity between unions is something management will never allow again.

That has been the real tragedy of unions in this country and how their effectiveness has been blunted. I can't imagine why they allowed their effectiveness to be eroded thus but I also can't judge why it was given away by so many unions, because I suspect that was the only way they could get decent contracts in the past, and they had to make the same decisions that the writers have to make today: is it worth more suffering to keep fighting for what you believe in or is the offer good enough to live with? While one can understand that it might have been an impossible fight, for management might let the strike continue to doomsday rather than allow that right, it certainly makes it harder for working men and women to stand up against management today.

The other thing that bothers me about this deal is the neglect to get the favored nations clause written into it. Much has been touted that the DGA couldn't have made their deal even as good as it is without the WGA striking and that the WGA did better, however slim that was. And now the way I understand it, the DGA will get the better deal through favored nations. For those who have the hopes that SAG can build on what the WGA got and make a better deal, and hence it will trickle down... they are in for a surprise... there is only a handshake deal on new media favored nations and on no other area -- and we know how good handshake deals made in secret rooms with no paper trail or public/press attendance are. I suspect that if SAG makes a better deal on DVDs or even new media or whatever, the DGA will get that deal through favored nations and the WGA will be left out in the cold, wondering what happened. And that 7.5% of the membership who voted no will tell them -- you caved too quickly.

So, because this is a contract where writers have to decide if the deal is "GOOD ENOUGH" for them to end the strike, I'm glad they were given the opportunity to vote on it, so that the results become really the will of the membership. Apparently, it was good enough -- the vote was overwhelming. Now the writers have ten days to ratify the deal. Obviously, it will be -- how could it not? They gave away the last of their leverage... the Oscars are going ahead as planned, episodes to finish out the season are starting up... and there is no way they can jump-start another walkout if somehow enough decided the deal wasn't good enough and voted no. So it's pretty safe to say that it seems a done deal.

The above photos of Patric Verrone walking and the still united crowd show how elated people were on this last day of picketing at NBC Burbank Studios. Through cold and rain, they had kept the faith and now this would be the last time they had to do it. Spirits were definitely up.

I loved Patric's sign, which said, "I'm not talking." That's because he was walking the line on Friday and the big meeting was on Saturday night, where everything would be explained. He looked exhausted and I don't think he wanted to face bombardment. And he shouldn't because goodness knows, he put up a helluva fight for the writers.

Interestingly, this is the first time that I'm actually happy with the way I look in a photo from this windblown, sunbaked, exhausting three months. I even think I look cute, although my friend, Joe Reinkemeyer is much cuter. We've run into each other on several of the pickets, but this is the first time I've taken a photo of him or with him. Now that it's over, I wish I had done more photo-taking as a remembrance of those I stood shoulder to shoulder with.

Now the days I hate are back, that is the days of looking for work again. This is the one industry where outsiders don't understand how difficult it is to keep working... or should I say, to keep working for pay, because I don't think we ever stop working.

On Thursday we had our last big rally day, this time at Disney. The great thing about the rallies are that you not only get to meet new people, but you get to see familiar faces who may have been picketing at other studios and at other times. Part of me had hoped that I would run into Carl Binder, whom I met back at a story meeting on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and who is now on Stargate: Atlantis, which I enjoy watching. I had heard he was picketing at Disney, but I also heard he was doing the 6 am shift and no way was I coming for that. So consequently our paths never crossed, not even at the same picket line.

My friend, Pam, came out again to picket with me. And it was a delight to meet David Clennon who is most well-known for his role on Thirtysomething, although he has a ton of credits to his name. He saw my little WGA Strike sign sticking out of my hat and stopped to ask where he could get one. That led to a delightful long conversation.

I saw David also on the picket line at NBC Burbank on Friday and since we now were 'acquainted' with each other, meaning he knew my name as well as me knowing his, I was able to introduce him to a writer/reporter for Starlog Magazine who was interested in interviewing David about some of his prior Sci Fi work at a later date. I hope it works out for them.

The Most Important Thing You Will Ever Read About The WGA Strike

Through the wonders of the Internet, every day I come across great information from better informed people that I.

This was posted by writer Larry Brody on his TVWriter.com message board. It wasn't written by him, but by Robert J Elisberg at HuffingtonPost.com. Since it is so important that we all get the word out to everyone we can, from people who really know what they are talking about, I'm hoping he won't mind me re-posting it here. I urge you all to go visit his original at the HuffingtonPost.com. I'm iffy about that site, as sometimes I like what it says and sometimes I don't, but I encourage you all to see for yourself.

Robert J. Elisberg HuffingtonPost.Com
WGA Strike Primer: Understanding Misunderstanding
Posted December 16, 2007 12:55 PM (EST)
Breaking Entertainment News

For all the flying rhetoric overhead, sometimes you have to wear safety goggles to see the obvious. Eventually that can lead to resolution.

So, first, the obvious:

The corporations of the AMPTP wanted a strike. It's hard not to acknowledge that. Their first offer cut residuals - that was never serious, but just presenting it showed their hand. Their first straight offer was zero for everything Internet. Guaranteed to get a strike-authorization vote. And then they walked away from negotiating. Later, they increased one of their zero offers to $250 (which could drop back to zero) - and again walked away from negotiating. And gave writers six ultimatums before they'd return.

These are not stupid people. Malevolent child-eaters perhaps, but not stupid. Think, Hannibal Lechter with a table at Spago. They knew no sane human could ever accept these. They had stockpiled their scripts, and sat comfortable that showrunners would finish all their TV series, that their pilots for next year would all be shot, that their entire slate of movies would be finished over the next six months, as writers held off striking to team up with SAG. At they point, they wouldn't care if actors struck. Because they'd have their nuts all stored away for an Ice Age, able to carefully ration their release over a very long time. Even directors, whether with a deal or not, would find themselves isolated, with nothing to direct.

There was one problem, something the AMPTP corporations completely misunderstood.

Writers aren't stupid either. Petulant, argumentative, annoying perhaps. Lousy businessmen. Worse dressers. But quite smart. And rather than let the corporations stockpile for a long nuclear winter, they struck while the supply was still limited.

The AMPTP also misunderstood that showrunners were not only really smart, too, but were writers - and they walked out in stunning unanimity. All those stockpiled TV scripts couldn't be filmed. And sit in stockpiles. The AMPTP misunderstood, as well, that stockpiled movie scripts require final polishes, and that companies are wary of spending $100 million without a writer for always-necessary on-set rewrites. The AMPTP corporations misunderstood all of this, while walking away from tables looking toward June and their long hibernation.

Make no mistake, even an early strike is horrific for everyone concerned. No one wins during a strike. The hope is that both sides win once it's over.

Yet the deep misunderstandings continue. And one most of all. But first, it's important to follow the path of misunderstandings.

Alexander Pope's warning is sage, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Indeed, people with limited information often think themselves expert, and it's that crevice where they fall into trouble.

Most outside observers drop into this hole. Unfortunately, the issues in this negotiation are intricate and arcane. One word can make a universe of difference. (Truly. Remember those infamous six ultimatums by the AMPTP? The only demand they care about - the sixth one they never mention - is that writers change "distributor's" gross to "producer's." Distributor's gross is money. Producer's gross is words. Few "experts" are remotely aware of this one-word, essential point.)

Articles with "little knowledge" are everywhere. One example for all must suffice. In a recent Huffington blog, producer Ron Galloway irresponsibly chastises the WGA for introducing reality and animation into the negotiations. It seems informed. In fact - fact - reality and animation were in the WGA proposal since before the strike was called! (Moreover, they aren't even strike issues. The WGA will never strike over these.) Either Mr. Galloway knows these issues have always been on the table, and he was being deceptive. Or he didn't know, in which case he has no business commenting.

In truth, most people not in the WGA or an AMPTP negotiator have little business commenting. Writers themselves barely-near comprehension after walking for weeks with thousands of fellow-professionals debating their own livelihood. If it's hard for writers with all that, imagine how almost-impossible for others.

And so, they misunderstand. The best fortunately go to many sources and touch the surface well. The worst let themselves be dupes. And the public gets hit with misunderstanding.

And so we see the John Ridley's and Craig Maizin's of the world quoted regularly for "the other side," without reporters knowing if they are actually explaining the other side, or just their own. Maizin is a WGA member with a personal blog, whose recent entry was wrong in more ways than Dick Cheney about Iraq. Ridley's only saving grace is that he makes Craig Maizin's analysis seem human. (Mr. Ridley's "WGA Film Company" was a bizarre, illegal, impossible fairyland, freakishly made worse by claiming, "This is no fantasy, no act of wild imagination." It was such a fantasy, it made "The Lord of the Rings" look like an Alan Greenspan treatise on world economics.)

But mainly, the AMPTP misunderstands one huge issue. This is that misunderstanding - at the heart of the whole, pathetic mess.

The AMPTP - General Electric, Sony, Time-Warner, News Corp., et al - being multinational conglomerates, understand the relentless drive for money. But it is not in their corporate DNA therefore to comprehend striking any other reason. Yet there is another reason.

The Writers Guild of America is striking because they absolutely understand that their union's future, indeed their livelihood is at stake.

This is not hyperbole. It's literal. Most people misunderstand why the Writers Guild of America is striking, too. But most can grasp it once it's explained.

The AMPTP, not so much.

You see, writers have long had a credo of "Pass it on." When I say "long," I mean cave-dwellers, sitting around the fire, enthralling listeners with tales of hope, terror, laughter and enchantment. Passing on stories is a writer's reason for being - and at the core of that, they pass on their craft to other writers. Writers can be argumentative, isolated and petulant, but they adore what they do - to sit alone for a lifetime, dreaming up ways to enthrall others, you have to adore what you do - and so they have a burning desire to see that devotion continued. And so, they pass it on.

WGA writers understand that all the protections they enjoy today - minimum payment, pensions, health benefits, residuals - all came because earlier writers risked their careers to get them. The corporations did not provide these out of benevolence. And the entire film industry benefited from the gains the annoying writers got for them.

(Everyone. Do not dare think that Hollywood moguls have suffered from decades of contract demands. We all grasp how profoundly successful Hollywood is to the envy of the world.)

And so writers at their center are driven to pass it on to the next group of writers, and proud to do so. And this is something the AMPTP corporations misunderstand critically.

But it goes deeper than that.

The Internet is not new-fangled. It's not even the future, because it's here. Ed Zwick and Marshall Herkovitz created a wildly-popular web series, "Quarterlife." So popular that network television bought it.

And so, at last, here's that "literal" part. This is what lies ahead. It's really obvious:

TV, movies and the Internet are already so seamlessly merged that streaming, Tivo playback, movie downloads, and network broadcasts run on the home video screen, one and the same. Now, go to the next step.

If corporations only have to pay $250 for residuals on the Internet as opposed to $20,000 on TV - where do you think all reruns will eventually be shown?

It gets worse. The corporations don't want original Internet content covered for the WGA. Where do you think the first-run "broadcast" of a series will be? After streaming once on the Internet, a company can simply "re-air" it on network TV. It's the same screen. The only difference is that General Electric-Sony-TimeWarner-Fox won't have had to pay more than a pittance for the material.

If you don't think this would happen, you haven't been watching the AMPTP offering zero and walking away from the table.

You haven't been watching media consolidation. Or the Middle Class being shrunk by power at the top. The AMPTP corporations wanted a strike with the Writers Guild, and a strike with SAG. And don't care about the directors.

But that's where they've misunderstood the one huge thing.

They misunderstand that the Writers Guild actually does get it. (SAG, too.) The Writers Guild fully understands that accepting any empty deal will destroy the WGA, lose all their benefits, and wipe out any protections for those to come. They really do get it. That's why you see such a vociferous strike. And it's what the AMPTP corporations misunderstand most of all.

We all read that the AMPTP is angry at WGA negotiators. This is mere petulance. Get over it, act your age. The WGA didn't send over tennis buddies, they chose tough negotiators, just as did the AMPTP. For actual anger, anyone should walk a picket line for hours and talk to actual writers whose actual livelihood, home and future is on the line. You will see people actually livid at the actual gross negligence of blatant corporate greed at its most egregious. And this actual anger is what the AMPTP corporations misunderstand. It's what reporters and observers misunderstand.

And all the writers want is a fair deal for both sides.

Imagine that.

Misunderstanding that writers won't settle for a bad offer because they can't gets in the way of reality, and therefore resolution.

Does this mean the writers won't ever collapse? No, anything is possible. But this is the critical: if we get that far, where the AMPTP corporations have starved out a siege, it will by then include actors, directors, crew, staffs and the entire industry, and the companies will have destroyed themselves in the process.

And out of the ashes, the creative talent - who make the movies and TV people watch - will have found a new canvas to paint on, as they always have throughout history. It will be called the Internet. You know, that thing that doesn't make money. And stories there will continue to amuse, excite, scare, annoy, educate, titillate and entertain everyone. And the old dinosaur movie studio and "TV" networks will be lost in the dust.

It will happen. And the AMPTP companies can join in and even take the lead, or be destroyed by it.

That's why understanding opens the door to resolution. So, understand that the members of Writers Guild of America get it. They know their future depends on the Internet. They know that they need to pass it on. Once anyone understands that, the rest comes like breathing.

I'm glad people like this share their knowledge with the rest of us.

And here I found another one of Robert Elisberg's articles, this time from the LA Times, posted by the same wonderful Brody on TVWriter.com message board, which has a lot of great information.


Producers fight the future

By Robert J. Elisberg
December 25, 2007

LA Times

Several weeks ago on the picket line, I mentioned to a negotiator for the Writers Guild of America that the absolute worst analysis I've been reading about the strike has come from entertainment lawyers. He laughed and said, "I know."

It was no shock to read that a Thursday Op-Ed article in The Times, "Curtains for the guilds," which posited that creative unions will be swallowed by a Black Hole, was co-written by an entertainment lawyer. At least his co-writer was someone with an intimate awareness of what is actually taking place in Hollywood — a Cornell professor.

Kevin Morris and Glenn C. Altschuler are bright. What neither know, however, is what the strike is actually about. Alexander Pope was right: a little learning is a dangerous thing.

Writers Guild members are livid. They'd be livid whoever was leading them. Never mind that the support for guild leaders David Young and Patric Verrone is enthusiastic, regardless of the studios' snarky attempts to discredit them. Guild members are livid that 22 years ago, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers sweet-talked a 4-cent royalty deal for home video, with a promise to revisit this new technology — then failed to do that and insisted that the guild remove a request this year to increase it.

Writers removed it — the alliance did nothing, and then walked away from the table.

Writers are livid, too that the initial offer for new media payment was zero. Zero for streaming, original Internet content, downloading: you name it, it was zero. The insult was galvanizing, for it showed the producers' hand. And when the producers "raised" their offer to $250 for streaming — which can drop back to zero if the companies themselves decide — writers remained livid. Pound the picket line for weeks on end and you will begin to learn how furious the writers are. Especially after the AMPTP corporations walked away from the table again.

Writers have a long tradition of "passing it on" that dates back to the caveman. Not just passing on stories themselves, but the love of the craft to future writers. What the companies have offered would destroy that future. And the Screen Actors Guild's. And yes, even the future of the Directors Guild of America, whose members may well recognize (despite the authors' certainty) that they too must have a fair deal on New Media or perish.

Does this mean the writers will never collapse? No, anything is possible.

But this is the critical point that Morris and Altschuler miss: If we get that far, to the point at which the AMPTP corporations have starved out the writers, as the authors postulate, the siege will by then include actors, directors, crew, staffs and the entire industry — and the companies will have destroyed themselves in the process.

But life happily has a way of correcting itself. What the authors overlook is the core issue of the strike — the new media. The Internet is not, as the AMPTP insists, a newfangled thingy that doesn't make money. (Viacom and Microsoft recently announced a $500-million deal. Surprise.) And if the companies end up taking everything down, the creative talent — who actually make the movies and TV people watch — would find a new canvas to paint on, as they have throughout history. It will be called the Internet. You know, that thing that doesn't make money. And stories will continue there. And the old dinosaur movie studios and "TV" networks will be lost in the dust. Anyone who thinks that Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Apple, Yahoo and on and on aren't chomping at the bit for content, is not looking close enough. Because the door has already been opened.

This all could be an utter disaster. Writers could splinter. And so too could the companies of the AMPTP, seeing their finances going down the drain, TV seasons and movie schedules lost, huge competitors rising on the Web, stockholders up in arms, $30-million bonuses lost, advertisers demanding give-backs, and the public pressuring them.

The latter outcome seems more likely than the former. Writers are profoundly united because their future is at stake. Corporations are dealing with somebody else's money. Hopefully, no disaster will occur. Hopefully, the AMPTP corporations will return to the table. Hopefully, they'll recognize that it's in their best interest to be part of the future rather than be left behind.

Robert J. Elisberg is a screenwriter in West Los Angeles and a commentator for the Huffington Post who has written for the Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, C/NET, E! Online and others. He served on the editorial board for the Writers Guild of America West, helped created the WGA.org website and writes a technology column for the Writers Guild East.

Fair Use Notice: This material is made available, free of charge and without profit, for research and educational purposes, public review, and debate as provided for in Section 107 of the United States Copyright Law.

Reality Television - the Reality is It's Written

Today there were no picket signs at Warner Bros. Studios. Were writers so weak-willed that a little bit of rain kept them away? Were they afraid they couldn't hold umbrellas and strike signs at the same time? No! The reason that nobody was out picketing WB was that there was a rally up the street on Alameda Street for the Reality TV writers among us.

What? Reality shows have writers, you say? News flash, they do. So do game shows -- somebody has to research all those questions and formulate the questions -- they don't just drop down from the heavens like manna.

Anyway, I know very little about that world, so it was an eye-opener. Reality TV writers are not covered by the WGA, consequently, their employers don't have to pay them health insurance benefits, or provide a pension. Residuals are unheard of. Wages are lower than industry standard -- guess the AMPTP won't be trotting out one of these writers saying they make $230,00 a year. And a typical day is 14-16 hours with no overtime. The typical crew member, covered by a union, gets overtime after 12 hours. You say you get overtime after 8 hours? Welcome to glamorous showbiz.

It's not unheard of for a game show to be covered by the WGA. Jeopardy is. Deal or No Deal is not. When reality TV writers approached FOX studios for health insurance, FOX responded that it wasn't their problem, go talk to the production company. One of the biggest suppliers of Reality TV is Fremantle Media of North America, which makes shows like American Idol, Price Is Right, Next Great American Band, and Temptation. Apparently, Fremantle responds to its employees desire for health insurance by getting rid of the problem: firing the writers who request it.

One reality writer and producer, Kai Bowe, formerly of America's Next Top Model, mentioned that reality TV writers are very aware that studios are using them as strike busters -- that they are being forced to work against the very union they would like to get protected by.

Aaron Solomon ran Temptation for Fremantle until he got tired of working 14-16 hours a day seven days a week trying to get 170 hours of programming done and into their schedule with unpaid overtime and quit.

In front of Fremantle, President of the Guild, Patric Verrone vowed to not abandon the reality TV workers in their quest for benefits and unionization. Not knowing much of the subject, I always naively assumed that if a group wanted coverage, then they could just join. I figured if the WGA was having trouble getting the reality TV writers under their wing, it was because the reality TV writers did not want to be unionized. The large group of people who gathered in the streets today, in what started off as rain, told me different. Apparently, once again, it's getting the Studio and production company to agree to the WGA covering the reality TV writers that's the hang up.

Patric had some interesting information to share. Apparently FOX gave health insurance to writers on The Simpsons after the show was on the air for 9 years, but refused to do the same for the Futurama writers.

Since unpaid overtime is a violation of state labor laws for any industry, some of the angry FOX writers threatened to sue and got quiet settlements from FOX. One writer, however, refused to settle and went for the hearing. The state decided he was owed $35,000 in unpaid overtime from FOX because the fact that he wasn't in a union made him an hourly employee entitled to overtime pay. So Patric encouraged Fremantle to unionize its shows because Union writers don't get overtime.

Patric's closing remarks were to read from an email from one of the state senators. The email informed us that the state legislature is going to look into labor violations for Reality TV workers. That brought cheers from the crowd.

Earlier, before the speakers took the stage, we were entertained by American satirical rock band duo, Tenacious D, (Kyle Gass and Jack Black). These musician/actor satirists had a couple of wonderful satirical songs on the Writers Strike. You can hear them on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgm_rtfQS8.

Once again it was really nice to reconnect with a writer who I hadn't seen in a few years, BARRY O'BRIEN. I met him when we were both working at Spelling Entertainment, he as a writer on Titans and me, the script coordinator of All Souls. I last saw him at the House of Blues where Barbara Hall was performing. She was the showrunner of Joan of Arcadia, for which I was the script coordinator and she was a consulting producer on Judging Amy, on which Barry was a writer. He is now a writer on CSI: Miami.

Additional comment: To anyone who thinks that Reality Writers DO NOT WANT TO JOIN THE GUILD or the WGA is forcing them, please read this article and the subsequent comments:
http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/12/reality-writer-responds-to-amptp.html

I also wish to highlight this comment from Raye on the above:
To quote a fellow writer, if we took animation and reality off the table, and DVD residuals, then Nick Counter would scream, "Take off your pants! No pants at the table! I will not negotiate with people in pants!"

Strike Scoop from Hank Steinberg

Here's an email which the writer Hank Steinberg sent to his fellow writers so they could understand the writers' side of the latest negotiations which hit a snag. The AMPTP's PR side has been touted widely, but the corporate-owned news media is less forthcoming with the writers side. So, knowing that blogs on different sites may reach different people, I'm going to distribute this on all my sites.

To my fellow writers,

I'm sure tonight's email from the Writer's Guild was a tad disheartening, particularly after expectations were raised this week that we would be close to making a deal and that the studios were prepared to make substantial concessions.

I spoke to a member of the Negotiating Committee tonight to get more enlightened myself as to what the hell happened: what was the disconnect between the rumors and expectations and the dismal results of this week?

The answer, apparently, is that this is precisely the studios' strategy: raise expectations through disinformation in the media and elsewhere, get us feeling comfortable, get us psychologically used to the idea that the strike will end, and then dash those hopes. This is essentially what they did on November 4th and they are trying to do it again. That is why they leaked the news to Nicky Fink on Monday that the deal was essentially done. If we go soft and get comfortable, the thinking goes, we'll end up accepting a shitty deal. Apparently, this strategy has worked for them in the past but we can't let it work now.

As long as we understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, we should not be disheartened. The studios' real mandate is to close this deal by mid to late December to get the TV season back on track in January and to save their pilot season. They have no urgency right at this moment to resolve this. Their coming back to the table now was part of a P.R. mislead and was actually meant to raise our hopes, then thwart them as a means of psychological warfare. To wear us down. They will, in fact, probably not negotiate for real until closer to their mid-December deadline and in the meantime will try to work on our collective resolve.

So although the idea of picketing for a couple of more weeks doesn't sound particularly glamorous to any of us, we're still in good shape to make a fair deal and we shouldn't allow their tactics to dampen our spirits or forget what it is we're striking over in the first place. They need to make a deal, they will make a deal, they just want to gauge us as much as they can. I thought it enormously helpful to understand where they are coming from and hope it will help you too.

The leadership understands that an informed constituency is a motivated constituency and members of the leadership and negotiating committee will be out on the picket lines on Monday to elucidate some of this and to answer questions, but no reason to churn and stew all weekend till then.

So rest up this weekend and don't despair.

And by all means, feel free to forward this email to any of our brethren.

We're all in this together!

Hank


For further information on Hank Steinberg, visit IMDB.com: http://www.pro.imdb.com/name/nm0825757/