IATSE's Tom Short weighs in, calls WGA "irresponsible and irrational"

First reaction to the AMPTP's announcement of the breakdown of talks with the WGA comes from Tom Short, president of the Intl. Alliance of the Theatrical Stage Employes, which reps over 100,000 below-the-line employees.

Short's had a long, bitter history with the WGA, blaming the guild leaders for their tactics of refusing early negotiations and attempting to organize IATSE turf in animation and reality.

“I don’t believe the WGA ever intended to bargain in good faith,” said Short. “And they are destroying a lot of lives in the process. As a result of their irresponsible and irrational behavior, the number of IA members who have lost work is fast approaching 40,000 people representing members all over the US and Canada. Unless and until the WGA leadership starts behaving responsibly, which is unlikely, not only wages, health insurance coverage and pension benefits will be lost. Homes and businesses will be lost, too.”

The entire IATSE press release is here:

In the wake of the collapse this afternoon of talks between striking Writers Guild of America and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers, IATSE President Thomas C. Short has issued a scathing denunciation of the WGA’s lack of good faith bargaining.

Short, who has been critical of the lack of experience and competence of WGA leadership since late last year, predicted the breakdown of talks, and has repeatedly accused the WGA’s Patric Verrone and David Young of irresponsibility in their pursuit
of a new contract with the producers.

Beginning with the cancellation of their own scheduled early negotiations that were to have taken place in January, the WGA has intended, according to Short, that the strike take place and disrupt not only the film and television industries in Los Angeles,but ancillary businesses as well. The halt in production caused by the strike has now spread nationwide and will soon reach beyond the US as several high profile feature films have been cancelled or put on hold until the strike is resolved.

Likening the WGA leadership to “a huge clown car that’s only missing the hats and horns,” Short has been infuriated that among the WGA contract points has been the illegal and unethical poaching of IA members in reality television now covered by IATSE Editors Local 700, and animation writers, members of Local 839, who have been covered by the IA for over 50 years. Said Short, “Even if the AMPTP wanted to give the WGA jurisdiction of animation writers they couldn’t. It’s not theirs to give. Those are IATSE members who have been part of our International for over half a century.”

With over 100 television shows shuttered and numerous features off the schedule,the resulting devastation to members of the IA is growing daily. “I don’t believe the WGA ever intended to bargain in good faith,” said Short. “And they are destroying a lot of lives in the process. As a result of their irresponsible and irrational behavior, the number of IA members who have lost work is fast approaching 40,000 people representing members all over the US and Canada. Unless and until the WGA leadership starts behaving responsibly, which is unlikely, not only wages, health insurance coverage and pension benefits will be lost. Homes and businesses will be lost, too.”

The IATSE is an International Union that represents members employed in the stagecraft, motion picture and television production, and trade shows industries throughout the United States, its Territories, and Canada. (For background information on the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees: www.iatse-intl.org.)

Comments

[AnimationWriter]

The Animation Guild is possibly the worst union in the world. I have written 4 different animated feature projects and not once have they every contacted me. And no one at the various animation studios knew anything about them either. As a result, I lost my family's health insurance even though I would have been eligible for IATSE coverage. I compare this to my first paid live-action writing gig (which preceded animation projects by several years) and the WGA contacted me immediately and I received my benefits as quickly as possible. The Animation Guild does NOTHING to protect writers in animation

Short makes it sound like the WGA is trying to poach their writers when in fact, 100% of all animated feature produced in the past 10 years have had WGA writers on them. All of us would prefer our contracts to be with the WGA rather than the Animation Guild. Think about the billions of dollars in residuals that are completely lost because of the IA's awful contract re: writing. He is just clearly trying to protect his territory with no regard for the writers his unions is supposed to protect

[AnimationWriter]

The Animation Guild is possibly the worst union in the world. I have written 4 different animated feature projects and not once have they every contacted me. And no one at the various animation studios knew anything about them either. As a result, I lost my family's health insurance even though I would have been eligible for IATSE coverage. I compare this to my first paid live-action writing gig (which preceded animation projects by several years) and the WGA contacted me immediately and I received my benefits as quickly as possible. The Animation Guild does NOTHING to protect writers in animation

Short makes it sound like the WGA is trying to poach their writers when in fact, 100% of all animated feature produced in the past 10 years have had WGA writers on them. All of us would prefer our contracts to be with the WGA rather than the Animation Guild. Think about the billions of dollars in residuals that are completely lost because of the IA's awful contract re: writing. He is just clearly trying to protect his territory with no regard for the writers his unions is supposed to protect

[Old Writer]

Tom Short should get his money back for those teeth of his. Below the line people, does he speak for you?

[MrKlaatu]

You stupid shit. You think by sucking Nick Counter's cock, the AMPTP will be nice and fair to you during the next IATSE negotiation? Ha ha. Keep sucking.

[IATSE Mom]

Yes Tom Short does speak for us Below the Line people. How moronic is it to start raising new demands on Thursday that the writers had been mum about as even strike issues. Reality Shows and Animation weren't even part of your little strike until Thursday. WGA derailed the process. The AMPTP was just ready for it because your ineptitude is so bloody obvious. My family has lost most of our income and had to dip both into savings and loans to pull us through your little temper tantrum. The lives you are destroying far outnumber the membership of your entire guild. You are well paid for your work. You don't deserve to pull from the till in perpatuity when you work for someone else. When you work for someone, your work product is theirs, so if you don't get what you feel you actually are worth when you produce the product, too bad... don't do the work and write only your own concepts and self publish/produce if you want it all. Go back to work you spoiled brats.

[now there's one union i won't support]

hmm, releasing a statement in concert with the amptp. did you get help on that release from the amptp pr people that they just hire, tom? hope you can look at yourself in the mirror, tom, because now you're a scab.

as someone who is currently working in animation, i receive half the salary of the lowest paid wga writer, no script fees, no benefits and no residuals. want to leave it up to a vote of our staff of four? guess which union we'll join.

iatse screwed up my health benefits as well. i lost six months due to their incompetence. then i quit the union and they had the nerve to keep sending me bills for dues, even though i wasn't working a union job any longer.

reality and animation have always been part of the wga negotiations. they just didn't get the press. when these writers try to get organized, they get fired. that's illegal. look it up.

and i love your name, IATSE Mom. you sound a lot like crew wife and post production wife. if you hate writers so much, why don't you get a job that doesn't depend on them. hope the amptp stabs you in the back. it will be much deserved.

[Klaatu]

Reality and animation jurisdiction have been part of the WGA's demands since before the strike. The reason they were discussed this week, is because the AMPTP said they were not ready to counter on streaming and ESTs, so they all moved onto other things on the list.

Read before you speak. Keep sucking.

[Old Writer]

IATSE Mom, you work in show business and five weeks of diminishing income brings your finances to a state of ruin? You had to dip into savings? I write features. I get paid every two or three years.

I made the crack about Tom Short's teeth because he looks like the kind of guy who thinks he's a movie maker just because twenty years ago he got to hang out with Burt Reynolds. When I read comments like yours I think IATSE people want to be thought of artistic but you want the stability and sense of order only a strong boss can give you. We writers call that being a hack. Normally, it only makes you look pathetic; under these heated conditions, it makes you look like the enemy.

[B]

Hey, Old Writer…

Lay off IATSE Mom! Obviously, like most of the above-the-line “lords and ladies”, you don’t understand what it’s like for us below-the-line “surfs” to make a living.

I do consider my job to be extremely artistic. I am a supervising sound editor (IATSE Local 700). I work directly with the show runners and their creative staff to design soundtracks for their shows. It’s extremely time consuming and demanding work requiring not only creative talent, but also technical experience and good client relation skills. I work an average of 50 hours per week IF there is an episode in my studio to work on. If there’s not, I don’t work… and I don’t get paid.

Now, did you know that the average television writer (I’m talking a regular, possibly even freelance writer) makes 9 times what I make per episode, gross? That means, that writer only has to write 2.5 episodes to make what I make in an entire TV season. And that writer (as you know) gets addition money in royalties off of those programs if they air. Even less the agent commissions, that’s still a lot of money. Do I get royalties off my sound track? For sounds I have spent hours creating and modifying from scratch? Nope. Just my paycheck.

And you know what else? I have to scramble to look for work in the off-seasons just like the writers do… and we sound editors don’t have agents who help find work for us like actors, writers and directors do.

Many of us understand on principle what the writers are going through --intellectual property SHOULD be protected. However, if you above-the-liners want to earn our support, you need to realize how hard it is for us IATSE people to make a living and treat us with some respect. We are all about to suffer and possibly lose our savings, our homes, even the breakups of our families, so that you writers can all get richer. Because trust me, the longer strike wears on, and the more the WGA keeps altering their demands, the more the writers will look like The Enemy.

Oh, and some advice for you: If you’re only getting paid every two or three years writing features, maybe you should write for television. You’ll make a killing.

[So Sad]

Wow Mr. Klaatu thank you so much for showing us all the maturity level of the WGA. I mean seriously, what are you 14 years old?