STRIKE HIPOCRISY

[BwayJerry]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:29am

There is another strike effecting this industry, but since the writer's strike puts thousands of IATSE members out of work , not just a few hundred, it
is apparently a different story. Moreover, with the WGA strike affecting jobs in film/tv, IATSE has many
fewer jobs to offer the 300 or so not working on Broadway. Of course, none of the other out of work folks have the ability to get placed in other jobs while this continues. But Short wants all the other unions and their thousands of members to support this strike, which affects only a few hundred of his.

Clearly, Pres.Short of IATSE does not support the WGA .

See the letter he sent on 11/14/07 to the Pres. of the WGA lambasting him because so many thousands of people are out of work because of the WGA strike.

The letter from Pres. Short and response from WGA Pres. Verrone are on the Variety blog. see link.
You have to scroll down to posts on 11/14/07.
The letters speak for themselves.

http://weblogs.variety.com/wga_strike_blog/
HIPOCRISY

[jerseygurl]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:36am

It's spelled "hypocrisy." The writers know that.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:39am

Why start another thread for gods sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:49am

Writers also know it's "affecting".

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 11:52am

The situations are different. Unlike Local 1, the WGA has not negotiated with the Studios and in fact was preparing for a strike for over a year. Local 1 has been negotiating in good faith, with the strike its final option (they could have legally gone on strike the day the League announced it would mplement new work rules, but the National union wanted them to work it out). The WGA WANTED to strike...Local 1 did not.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:20pm

You're totally right. David Young is clearly in the right, afterall if he can do an interview for the LA Times and say that he, "just lay back and look the havoc [you] have wreaked," and that he's, "not going to apologize for that." Meanwhile the TV and Movie industry is shut down all because the WGA canceled it's own proposed negotiating sessions.

Should the WGA members get more money from residuals on DVDs? Sure, if they cost less to produce why can't you make a few extra bucks?

Should the WGA members get paid for writing promotional works? Yes.

Actually, I'm going to do a little backpedaling here. Why should anyone get residuals off of DVDs or anything? You've already been paid for your work, isn't that enough? You don't need to pay writers to write something that's already been written. You don't need to hire actors to act in a TV/Movie that's already been recorded. I don't see why AMPTP needs to pay for work that's not being done.

[singtopher]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:34pm

Leko, allow me to give an example:

Let's say a food company buys your cookie recipie for 1 million dollars. They will make your cookies and distribute them nation wide with your name on them. The cookies catch on and the company makes 500 Million selling YOUR recipie. Would you not want to benefit from the success of your recipie?

Writer's play a large part in the success of a TV show. If their show becomes a huge hit and sells countless amounts of DVD's, they should be compensated. The production company wouldn't have such a hit if the writers didn't write it.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:37pm

Hippocrysy!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:50pm

Sing that model doesn't work. If I were to buy something, usually that means I own it unless otherwise stated.If I sold my receipe for cookies, I no longer own it, the new owners can do what they want with it. If I buy a house from somebody for 500,000 and spent my money and time redoing it and turn around and sell it for 2 Million the original owner has no rights to that profit or any part of it. THAT IS UNLESS there is a written contract before hand.

[singtopher]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:58pm

Very true SNAFU. But the original owner's name is not on the house anymore. Writer's are still credited with the show.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:59pm

Writers are treated like sh*t in Hollywood.
...just ask Harlan Ellison

[Timmer]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:07pm

"The WGA WANTED to strike...Local 1 did not."

If they didn't want to, they didn't hve to. That they chose to do so shows that they wanted to.

BTW, did you read the League's statement? They said they spent the weekend making many concessions, but IATSE was infelxible and nothing was good enough.

That doesn't meet my definitioon of "negotiating in good faith."

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:41pm

"BTW, did you read the League's statement? They said they spent the weekend making many concessions, but IATSE was infelxible and nothing was good enough."

They did no such thing. At most they agreed to the concessions that they had originally agreed to in September (before rescinding them in October). They are not negotiating in good faith, and if you really believe that, I have some property on Mercury to sell you.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 4:01pm

Yes Sing, they are credited for the writing as per their contract. They SOLD the script. Unless the terms are spelled out in the contract to the different it is considered a work for hire. The Producers own the script once it is done it becomes their intellectual property.

[UnionMade]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 4:18pm

I would also like to point out that Mr. Short is the president of the International and not Local ONE. And he is just expressing his opinion of the handling of the situation. At no time in this letter does he suggest that he will not support the WGA in their work action.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 4:24pm

Ok, singtopher, that's a good example. But I was already payed a million dollars for my recipe which may or may not have been a success. But now this company that has my cookie recipe has now grossed this company 500 million dollars and they include my name on the box. What's stopping other companies from calling me and saying, "Hey you came up with some great cookies! Can you come up with something for us we'll pay you $5 million for it." Now, knowing that I can do good work, go, "Ok fine, I'll take $5 million for the recipe but I want 10 cents of every cookie." And that is how I made $50 million off of some people who just sold 500 million cookies.

The WGA is striking because of a contract called the Minimum Basic Agreement. Keyword: "Minimum." I doubt that there's much stopping a WGA member from being paid more than the minimums. Also, one of the big contentions of this contract is the ratio for DVD residuals over DVD sales. The last time this contract was negotiated was in 2004. If they didn't think about how a DVD cost about $1 and a VHS tape cost like $5-7 then they made some poor decisions. DVDs have been around for 10 years. This isn't some new concept. 10 years prior to the debut of DVDs, the WGA went on strike over laserdiscs, betamax tapes, and vhs tapes. What made them wait 10 years to go on strike using new media as an excuse? I think that everyone in the WGA deserves to be paid residuals for what they do. How much do they deserve? That's not up to me to decide nor is it up to the public to decide.

As for Local One not wanting to strike, there's a difference between wanting to do something and being forced to do something. Sometimes I don't want to go to work but then I remember that I have to if I want to put clothes on my back, a roof over my head, and feed myself, so I force myself to go. Local One was pushed into a corner and they had two options, be bullied into accepting a contract that they didn't want or go on strike. They chose to strike.

As for the league saying Local One was inflexible, I'm sure Local One could say the same thing.

[bk]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:12pm

Fosse76 - And you know this how? Were you there? Where are you getting your information? Please post the link to this information, otherwise you're just one more person making with comments that are coming from - where? Your head? If they're factual then back it up. Otherwise, no one's going to take you seriously.

[singtopher]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:20pm

Leko-
uhhhhh.....I got nothing. It seems you have a greater business mind than I.

edited

Updated On: 11/19/07 at 07:20 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:25pm

"Fosse76 - And you know this how? Were you there? Where are you getting your information? Please post the link to this information,"

My information comes from people who were actually there. You seem to get your information from the League's press releases, which are hardly unbiased. The League is the equivalent of Fox News these days.

[localonecrew]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:28pm

"Fosse76 - And you know this how? Were you there? Where are you getting your information? Please post the link to this information, otherwise you're just one more person making with comments that are coming from - where? Your head? If they're factual then back it up. Otherwise, no one's going to take you seriously. "

i will back it up with the fact that i have been getting the same info from committee members and production managers.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 8:41pm

singtopher: Thanks for the compliment, I do what I can.