AMPTP puts their foot down in strike talks

The AMPTP took a hardline stance at the final meeting Friday afternoon with the WGA before negotiations broke down.

Carol Lombardini, VP of the AMPTP, delivered these remarks to detail why the majors believed they had to insist the guild back off on half a dozen fronts including how writers would be paid for Internet streaming, sympathy strikes, jurisdiction in reality TV and determination of Fair Market Value.

Here are her remarks...

AMPTP STATEMENT DURING WGA NEGOTIATIONS

Held on December 7, 2007

The second group of proposals listed under the topic “Rejections” represents those proposals that

are an absolute roadblock to any further progress in these negotiations. We have had some frank

discussion with you about some of these proposals over the past three days. Unfortunately, these

discussions have only reinforced our conviction as to how far apart the parties remain. These

proposals are completely unacceptable in their present form, or in any altered form. They

include:

W-12 a), your Fair Market Value proposal. We remain steadfast in our conviction that

fair market value should be determined by the marketplace itself, not by a third party.

The notion of appointing an arbitrator or developing a legal system to ascertain monetary

values in our business is utterly unacceptable.

Your Reality Program proposals, W-13 a) and b), are a clever disguise to what amounts

to a top-down union organizing campaign. And those proposals, by applying the terms

and conditions of the MBA to reality programs, render those companies already signatory

to your Agreement unable to compete in the development and production of this type of

programming.

Your presentation on December 5th of an added piece to the Reality Program proposal

only widened the gap between us. Your proposal sought to bind the networks, who do

not even sit at this bargaining table, to a contractual provision which prohibits them from

doing business with those who do not offer the same pension and health provisions as set

forth in the MBA. Surely you knew that even if any of us had the authority to make such

a commitment, the idea of forcing the networks not to do business with a certain category

of producers would be wholly unacceptable to us.

Your Animation proposal, W-14, is likewise unacceptable. As you know, there is

another union which has long had jurisdiction over the work you are now seeking to

cover by your proposal. We believe that it should be up to the writers in this field, using

the procedures carefully established by Congress in the 1940s – in the same legislative

act that validates the very existence of Writers Guild of America, East and West – to

express their desire as to whether they wish to be represented by the WGA or that other

union. It is not for us as Companies to usurp the secret ballot democratic election process

established by the National Labor Relations Act by agreeing to another top-down union

organization proposal.

Your Industry Standards proposal, W-15 a) – the simple statement here is that we will not

allow a provision in a labor agreement to dictate those with whom we can do business.

Your Sympathy Strike proposal, W-22, asks us to allow you to strike because of the

existence of a labor dispute with another group. We cannot entertain that principle. The

bargain we strike must include an ironclad pledge of labor peace for the term we agree

upon. No exceptions will be entertained.

Lastly, we cannot agree to any new residual formula based upon the concept of

“Distributor’s Gross.” That is, any residual formula that requires payment to be made

based upon the receipts of an entity other than the signatory Company is unacceptable to

us. Our agreement to share revenues with you must be limited to those revenues actually

received by the signatory Company.

Your determination to continue to pursue these initiatives prevents us from making any

movement in any other area. Therefore, unless you advise us immediately that these proposals

are withdrawn, we see no purpose in continuing these talks.

Comments

[ReelBusy]

My studio DVD boycott starts now. It ends when this strike does. Join me won't you?

[ReelBusy]

My studio DVD boycott starts now. It ends when this strike does. Join me won't you?

[Dave]

Can someone explain to me the significance of some of these issues in the WGA proposal? I'm definitely siding with the writers (I'm a composer and member of the musician's union), but why do they need to bring reality and animation writers into the guild with this contract? Also, why can't they settle for a proportion of the revenues received by the signatory company?

Dave

[Carole]

Think of the DVD's; cable and ETC.,"We" CAN NOT afford to continue giving the AMPTP the upper hand. It's OUR turn to have some REAL negotiations,NOW. Forget all the b----s----and get down to REAL work, AMPTP. Cut out the "games".

[Why?]

Dave, they want reality and animation writers because those two areas are, as we speak, still working. It is all about power. The writers want to be able to shut it all down and force the studios to meet their demands, but the studios still have some leverage this way and they understandably are unwilling to give that up. So, with the WGA guaranteeing to their membership that they will own reality and the studios saying don't bother talking until that demand is dropped, we have arrived at an impasse.

[David C. Daniel]

The AMPTP's rabid rejection of the "6 points" is consistent with their financial policy: We will not perform accounting in certain areas of our operation because we don't want ANYONE to know how much money we process in a given period of time. Period.

In reality the companies see it more simply. Their algorithm is pretty basic: guilds = residuals = accounting = bad

I don't think the AMPTP is at all worried about the mere pittence the WGA is asking for. But the companies can't make it work with their Vegas-style accounting system.

[AW]

I don't understand. How does a union with about 12,000 members, half of whom by their own admission are unemployed, paralyze an entire economy? There are tens of thousands of writers who have no connection to the WGA, had no vote and are now being told they will be blacklisted in perpetuity should they act in their own best interests (and trust me, on both sides, this whole thing is about self interest). Wnen does the AMPTP get to say, "Hey, we're willing to sign with anyone who wants to agree to the last offer we made to the WGA, give us a call." And, as the writers keep telling us, the Internet is full of writers and other creative sorts who are arguably more talented than many current union members. Studios get out there and invite these people to the party. As for the writers, they are so sure they can make millions posting things online, go for it. See just how willing advertisers and consumers are to pay for the YouTube videos you make in your garage, only the very talented or the very lucky will make even close to what most writers turned their noses up at when the AMPTP offered it.

Let's get back to business.

[Chris]

When you guys are done with a deal i will come back to your show....... at least i will have some stuff to watch intill all my shows go dark

[Bill Writer]

AW - You don't understand how the WGA can paralyze the entertainment economy. Well, um... WE CREATE THE PRODUCT. If all these writers you speak of could write material for film and television, most of them would be doing it already. If AMPTP wants to find another source of writers, good luck to them. The quality of entertainment would PLUMMET. All we want is a fair deal. The AMPTP claims fair increases in their proposals, but the math doesn't add up and they won't explain anything! We've been public with our numbers. ONE year's salary of any of the moguls who run the industry would cover what we're asking for. As for your assessment that "Youtube" is where WGA writers would turn, nice try. We would still write tv shows and films, we'd just cut the fat-cat studios out of the equation and make deals with google, yahoo, etc. We provide the content for these people. Again, WE CREATE THE PRODUCT. Your belittling of the WGA component in the entertainment world is as laughable as it is uninformed.

[Go For It!]

Bill Writer, what's holding you back? Make some deals with google, yahoo, etc. Provide them content. Since the strike is reportedly over fair Internet revenues, go for it! Leave the fat-cats behind and show everyone how much money you can make, how the math really adds up. That's the essence of our free enterprise system. If you can do that, and bring everyone along with you, then the quality of the entertainment from the networks will plummet. They will come begging you to return, throwing the riches of Pharaoh at your feet. Put your money where your mouth is.