Writer's Guild Going on Strike

[ahalpert]

If you don't like the offer on the table, don't take it. .

That's exactly what the union is doing. The union operates as a collective negotiating instrument. They don't like the offer on the table, so they're not taking it. You're the one who's starting to sound whiny.

The point being made in the new Yorker article is that the studios can get out of paying writers a full year contract. There are numerous ways that they do this, but on Swarm, for example, the season was written in 14 weeks and most of the writers were only hired for that duration and paid a weekly rate.

 

[DLD]

That's exactly what the union is doing. The union operates as a collective negotiating instrument. They don't like the offer on the table, so they're not taking it. You're the one who's starting to sound whiny.

OK, you got me. I whine about the idiotic article turning the top one-percenters into an underclass. Because it's written for other one-percenters who think they're proletariat. Fortunately, the New Yorker isn't writing tearjerkers about the currently unemployed Tucker Carlson.

 

[Peter C.]

OK, you got me. I whine about the idiotic article turning the top one-percenters into an underclass. Because it's written for other one-percenters who think they're proletariat. Fortunately, the New Yorker isn't writing tearjerkers about the currently unemployed Tucker Carlson.

I didn't read the article but this is what America is built on that workers have right to negotiate their compensation. In large the industry makes lots of money so what's your problem with the writers getting as much as they can? You have a poor man's mentality.

 

[Doug Bee]

Lots of ignorance in this thread.

Sure some showrunners get paid very well. There’s maybe 20 “names” that make those headline figures.

Many writers don’t. One of the biggest issues is that they get paid per episode. With the rush to streaming many seasons are 10 or 8 or 6 episodes now instead of 22.

But they take almost as long a time commitment. I know a Showrunner who was working full time on a show from development to final editing and delivery and it took 18 months. That was the only job she could do. It was a six episode series. So she only got paid for six episodes of work. Spread over 18 months that isn’t very lucrative.

So in effect you’re working for less.

Residuals used to be another way you could make some extra income and it built over time.

Except streamers don’t do residuals.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/writ...bwYLe0-YQ9V8TRrAT160JFAEbidCQcE9-98tLygJHvO-H

 

[DLD]

I didn't read the article but this is what America is built on that workers have right to negotiate their compensation. In large the industry makes lots of money so what's your problem with the writers getting as much as they can? You have a poor man's mentality.

I don't have a "poor man's mentality". Thanks for the free psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud. I posted the article. You don't have to read it. But you should then refrain from commenting on it.

Sideline : it's questionable whom the unions help or hurt, especially the creative/Hollywood unions where the percentage of those working full time is much smaller than the number of total members. Individual contracts are still negotiated by the talent representatives (aka agents and lawyers) and, if the compensation is far above minimums, then they are the ones getting hurt.

 

[Peter C.]

I don't have a "poor man's mentality". Thanks for the free psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud. I posted the article. You don't have to read it. But you should then refrain from commenting on it.

Sideline : it's questionable whom the unions help or hurt, especially the creative/Hollywood unions where the percentage of those working full time is much smaller than the number of total members. Individual contracts are still negotiated by the talent representatives (aka agents and lawyers) and, if the compensation is far above minimums, then they are the ones getting hurt.

The driving force of capitalism is the motive to make a profit. Sounds like you're the one who is whining and I don't need to read an article to understand how capitalism works.

 

[hojomo]

I don't have a "poor man's mentality". Thanks for the free psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud. I posted the article. You don't have to read it. But you should then refrain from commenting on it.

Sideline : it's questionable whom the unions help or hurt, especially the creative/Hollywood unions where the percentage of those working full time is much smaller than the number of total members. Individual contracts are still negotiated by the talent representatives (aka agents and lawyers) and, if the compensation is far above minimums, then they are the ones getting hurt.

LOL what absolute blather - in this thread you've just lazily mixed up various jobs & applied the same boring, anti-union lens onto workers you obviously have no respect or understanding of what they do. Kind of works hand-in-hand with being completely impartial to people in creative industries being replaced by robots. I guess not having the chops or the vision to realize your own creative endeavors greases the wheels for that kind of attitude. Still a pretty lame one to have in a forum like this.

 

[hojomo]

If you don't like the offer on the table, don't take it. The producers, Alec Baldwin aside, aren't holding a gun to your head. A working TV writer is not living at a poverty level. As JB pointed out here a couple of years ago, most staff writers on a full year contract begin at around $300,000. And experienced writer can make upward of $500,000. Showrunners can make above $5,000,000, stars over $50,000,000. So, all this "horrible producers" shtuff is a pile of dung. As is the New Yorker playing to its readers sympathies without informing them of how this business really works and what it entails.

This is total garbage disinformation about working professional writers' typical compensation. heheh & a nice reference to workers in the industry getting killed/exploited. SO CLASSY

 

[ahalpert]

OK, you got me. I whine about the idiotic article turning the top one-percenters into an underclass. Because it's written for other one-percenters who think they're proletariat. Fortunately, the New Yorker isn't writing tearjerkers about the currently unemployed Tucker Carlson.

The key distinction is between the people who own the company (shareholders) who profit from squeezing the writers, and the people who work for the company and are paid per unit of labor or time.

Streamers are muscling out broadcast but paying writers less than broadcast.

In case y’all are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show… $4,” screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

https://www.usnews.com/news/busines...amers-cut-costs-tv-shows-and-residuals-vanish

I think the writer is at least as important as the star (and probably moreso) and that their compensation should reflect that.

 

[Peter C.]

LOL what absolute blather - in this thread you've just lazily mixed up various jobs & applied the same boring, anti-union lens onto workers you obviously have no respect or understanding of what they do. Kind of works hand-in-hand with being completely impartial to people in creative industries being replaced by robots. I guess not having the chops or the vision to realize your own creative endeavors greases the wheels for that kind of attitude. Still a pretty lame one to have in a forum like this.

There is a plethora of people without a solid foundation of education and understanding of history. Their ideas are a combination of opinions they get from media outlets and sprinkle some of their own feelings and you get this sort of blue collar garbage they spew out like it was their own. It be like taking issue sub atomic science because it don't make common sense.

 

[ahalpert]

. I guess not having the chops or the vision to realize your own creative endeavors greases the wheels for that kind of attitude. Still a pretty lame one to have in a forum like this.

Next we'll hear about how cameramen should be happy to work for free

 

[Doug Bee]

Individual contracts are still negotiated by the talent representatives (aka agents and lawyers) and, if the compensation is far above minimums, then they are the ones getting hurt.

What are you talking about? Grips don’t have agents. Electrics don’t. 1st AC or 2nd AC? Nope.

The DGA rate for directing is also fixed. It’s not negotiated. Everyone gets the same. Sure if a marquee director is involved they may get to be negotiated to also being a producer but that then typically means they are doing producer work as well ( casting, hiring key creatives)

I think you have little understating of how it works on the ground and only some visage notion of what the unions do.

 

[Paul F]

Writers of a television series get $10,449 for a 30 minute show and $19,848 for a 60 minute show for each script; per the Writers Guild Basic Agreement.

 

[CharlesPapert]

What are you talking about? Grips donât have agents. Electrics donât. 1st AC or 2nd AC? Nope.

The DGA rate for directing is also fixed. Itâs not negotiated. Everyone gets the same. Sure if a marquee director is involved they may get to be negotiated to also being a producer but that then typically means they are doing producer work as well ( casting, hiring key creatives)

I think you have little understating of how it works on the ground and only some visage notion of what the unions do.

Hmmm. You are correct about rank-and-file crew not having agents, other than dept. heads (DP, production designer, costume designer etc) plus a couple of specialty positions like Steadicam operator. However--the statement about directors I can't get behind, aka "The DGA rate for directing is also fixed." There is a minimum scale, but that's not the same as rate, and many directors who would not be considered marquee can have their agent negotiate above scale, even without producer credits. The problem is that we aren't delineating here between episodic, commercial, feature, live broadcast etc, let alone budgetary level. There is a vast range of pay amongst each of these categories.

As a Local 600 DP I've made scale plenty of times, and above scale other times depending on the size of the project. As a DGA director I've yet to make above scale. But I've worked as a DP at a higher level than I've directed so that makes sense.

 

[ahalpert]

OK, you got me. I whine about the idiotic article turning the top one-percenters into an underclass. Because it's written for other one-percenters who think they're proletariat. Fortunately, the New Yorker isn't writing tearjerkers about the currently unemployed Tucker Carlson.

PS I called you a whiner because when the people you criticize do the thing you said they should do and you still complain, then you're just being a Whiney McWhinerstein

PPS if you tune into Newsmax you can enjoy an endless commentary about how Carlson was unfairly dismissed

 

[ahalpert]

Writers of a television series get $10,449 for a 30 minute show and $19,848 for a 60 minute show for each script; per the Writers Guild Basic Agreement.

I don't know the ins and outs of the contracts, but it sounds like streamers are manipulating loopholes that let them pay writers on a weekly basis rather than a per episode basis. And additionally, the pay for residuals is different for streamers and the system isn't well-established. The amount of view time and profitability of the show is more opaque in streaming than in broadcast, which advantages streamers.

 

[Paul F]

I don't know the ins and outs of the contracts, .......

Well, all you need to do is read the 749 page agreement. Easy peasy. It's a fast read....... like a Tolstoy novel.

And regarding my quoted pay for scripts, those are minimums.

 

[Thomas Smet]

In the end we are the ones that will suffer because of this. Well maybe using the word suffer is a bit of a first world problem since its just entertainment.

Its unfortunate it had to come to a strike vs figuring out a deal ahead of time.

As important as writers are they are also facing a new level of hatred from consumers who blame them for poor stories and being woke or whatever lame excuse is used vs just saying one didn't understand something because they are slow.I'm not talking about all criticisms either. I fully support critique. I don't support blaming political motivations and a general lack of intelligence on the writers. People need to just be honest and come out and say they don't agree with inclusion or diversity. Own up to their prejudice and stop looking for something to blame. Stop saying something is poorly written when the people complaining can't even write a proper social media post. Its a lame politically motivated response and has nothing to do with the quality of writing.

We are seeing writers get a lot of disrespect these days.

Anyway I support fighting for better pay but let's also not drag this out forever. We are all the ones that will be impacted because of this. It's going to force everyone to take sides and either think the writers are greedy or the ones that sign the paychecks are greedy. I don't pretend to know what the average salary is for writers in Hollywood but is it really that bad? I'm asking because I don't really know. If they are struggling I fully support this. If they are well off and just want a bigger slice of the pie then that doesn't always sit well with me.

 

[Peter C.]

I gather media outlets take news events like a possible strike and turn them into political narratives, like anti-union. Funny how they make institutions that are designed to give workers a voice and equal footing to negotiate better pay, the enemy.

 

[Thomas Smet]

In a perfect world we wouldn't need unions. Sadly this is far from a perfect world. I just want this resolved quickly.

As one that will always have a soft place in my heart for the VFX industry I am a little upset the writers guild is striking again and not a darn thing ever happens to help out the VFX industry who practically work like slaves.

Where is the writers guild in supporting the VFX industry? Every group is equally important in making content a reality. The writers are vastly important but so are the VFX artists. A well written script is just words sitting in a closet if you don't have the other parts of the equation. Why does the writers guild get to shut down Hollywood?

I of course want them to feel appreciated but I can't help but feel nobody else in the industry gives a crap about the VFX industry. How many of the guild unions ever come out in support of the talented VFX artists?

According to Google which may or may not be accurate writers in Hollywood can earn between $75,000 and $130,000. According to Google VFX artists are around the same. So why does the writers guild get to strike then? There are too many out for themselves guilt unions in Hollywood vs a whole collective looking out for each other.

Just my opinion of course. We really need a VFX union.