The WGA gets real: The march on Fremantle

The weather took pity on striking WGA scribes Friday, with the sun peeking out on an otherwise rainy day just as guild mounted its 1 pm rally outside the Burbank office of "American Idol" producer FremantleMedia.

The picket and rally sesh shut down a small stretch of West Alameda Avenue, between Pass Avenue and Maple Street between noon-2 p.m. Pickets came equipped with signs wrapped in plastic for the event designed to highlight WGA's push to organize reality tv scribes and others who perform writer-like functions on reality/alternative shows a la "American Idol" and "Deal or No Deal."

Signs ready-made for the rally, which drew a crowd of several hundred people (smaller than other WGA central-location events but far more than last week's old-timers rally at Sony when it was really pouring), included messages such as "Unscripted? Yeah, write" and "Fremantle: We're Aiken for health insurance."

Rally kicked off on a stage under a tarp-covered awning with a brief appearance by Tenacious D, aka the rock-god parody act of thesp Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who beat the crap out of their acoustic guitars and unveiled a new tune, "Fuck the Bullshit," that went over well with the crowd with its refrain: "They're gonna gobble up your Internet cream pie."

WGA West prexy Patric Verrone served as emcee for a lineup of speakers that included hyphenate Paul Haggis, Kai Bowe (who was among the producers of "America's Next Top Model" who went on strike when the producers refused their efforts to negotiate a guild contract); Aaron Solomon, a writer on Fremantle game show "Temptation" who walked off the show after company refused to negotiate a guild contract for him and three others; SAG's Anne-Marie Johnson and thesp Alfre Woodard.

Verrone in his remarks made it clear that talks with AMPTP haven't been too productive during the past 48 hours. He also promised the crowd that "we the Writers Guild will never be the ones to break off talks. We will stay at that table day and night for as long as it takes to get a good deal."

He further emphasized that the guild never considered backing away from its reality TV jurisdictional demand in the current negotiation.

"It will be in our next contract," Verrone told the crowd. He noted that the WGA's leverage in the biz and compensation for all writers will go down if the expanding reality TV biz leads to "an army of non-guild writers" being developed. In contrast, 20 years ago WGA covered virtually inch of film and TV activity in town. "There was us, and there was Roger Corman," Verrone quipped.

Bowe struck a chord with the crowd by observing that "the lines between reality and scripted shows are no longer blurred; they're non-existant." On many so-called unscripted shows, the scripts are "half-written before the shows are shot," Bowe said. "If you are a writer or a producer in reality, the Writers Guild is your union. It's that simple."

Solomon got a rise out of the crowd by noting that even though Fremantle has balked at WGA coverage on its shows, which also include CBS' "The Price is Right," and does not list any writer credits on its shows, it did submit three "Price" writers for Daytime Emmy consideration earlier this year. According to Solomon, the costs of covering the four producers on "Temptation" who were seeking WGA recognition -- after working 14-18 hour days to produce 170 episodes in 16 weeks -- would have been about $5,000 a year.

"You could win that much in a game of Plinko," Solomon joked, referring to one of the games on "Price."

At the close of the rally, Verrone, WGA vp David Weiss, Solomon and Haggis took a petition signed by more than a thousand WGA members calling on Fremantle to give guild coverage to writers and producers on its shows into the lobby of Fremantle's office. With security guards and two Burbank police officers looking on, a Fremantle exec came down, accepted the petition and spoke briefly with Verrone and Co.

"We both agreed that we're all very concerned about working conditions for their employees," Verrone told reporters after he exited the building.

--Cynthia Littleton

Comments

[pacificotv]

Re: FREMANTLE

Things that were noticed at the March on Fremantle:

Generator tech: Non-Union electrician
Tent labor: Non-Union riggers
Staging Labor: Non-Union stagehands
WGA T-shirts: Made in china (Non-Union)
Quote from organizer regarding these issues: "this isnt about the IA."

Solidarity?

[Unon Proud]

Wait, is that true? The WGA used Non-Union labor to set up their rally? Are you kidding? And WGA organizer said that this isn't about the IA!?!?! Well then what the hell is up with all the non-sense I keep being told about how this is for all of us, and IATSE should really get behind us. Well WGA maybe you should make sure you have solidarity with the union before you start casting stones at others!

[BTL Single Guy]

I would agree with you if the WGA was actually making any money on the rally and or t-shirts, let alone actual revenue. That said, I would have preferred if they used union talent. I would have also preferred if union members volunteered to do the work as Tenacious D and Alfre Woodward did. That would have showed them true solidarity.

[Union Proud]

BTL Single Guy, so what you are saying is that it is acceptable to use non-union labor as long as you aren't making a profit? Ok, I mean that is anti union, but ok. What about using non union labor when the whole point is solidarity? Did they pay those nonunion people? If the answer is yes, then they took money from unon pockets! That makes the WGA scabs...or do you not get that? eems to me that the WGA is full of hypocrites.

[BTL Single Guy]

No, I didn't say it was acceptable or even preferable. I just thought it was incorrect to make the comparison between the WGA's rally and AMPTP as if they were equivalent. It was much worse when IATSE editors took the jobs of writers trying to organize on "America's Next Top Model". Quite frankly, the WGA owes IATSE members no consideration based on the actions of Tom Short and those who apparently support him. If the WGA are scabs for hiring non-union labor (when it wasn't required, by the way), what does that make IATSE when they collaborated with the AMPTP against a fellow union?

[Union Proud]

BTL Single Guy, when did I compare the WGA to the AMPTP? Did you even bother to read my post? I would like to know the exact line wehere I said, "here is how the WGA is like the AMPTP?" And I never said that the WGA "owes" IATSE anything. However, I do feel that if the WGA want's solidarity, then they should show the same respect, and yes that includes using union labor when you have the choice. You see BTL Single Guy that is a key factor here. Choice! Like whenever some one tells you, "we had no choice but to go on strike." Everyone has a choice, it isn't always a good one, but there is always a choice.

[BTL Single Guy]

By calling them scabs and hypocrites. I call that hyperbole.

Comparing the choice to hire non-union labor with the choice to strike? Ridiculous. Do we even know if they tried to hire union labor? Did IATSE refuse? Given the behavior of IATSE leadership, do you blame them for hiring non-union if there was, in fact, a choice? Solidarity is a two way street and it seems like many IATSE members are making ultimatums it the same manner as their brothers in the AMPTP. Is this where my dues are going to? Undermining another union? Does IATSE want to be known as the union that collaborated with management against the WGA?

And you're bitching about the WGA not hiring IATSE labor for a rally? Seriously? Did Tom Short hire a member of the WGA to write his press release? Hey, I guess he had a choice too.