WGA seeks one-on-one negotiations with AMPTP members

WGA is trying to shift the dynamics of its negotiations impasse with the AMPTP by seeking one-on-one talks with AMPTP member concerns.

Here's the letter WGA's negotiating committee sent to members Saturday morning:

A Message to the WGA Membership from its Negotiating Committee

As you know, the AMPTP is currently unwilling to bargain with us. The internal dynamics of the AMPTP make it difficult for the conglomerates to reach consensus and negotiate with us on a give and take basis. We believe this multi-employer structure inhibits individual companies from pursuing their self-interest in negotiations. We nonetheless continue to hope that the AMPTP will return in good faith to negotiate a fair contract with writers, as two television seasons and numerous feature projects are currently at great risk.

We want to do everything in our power to move negotiations forward and end this devastating strike. We have therefore decided to reach out to major AMPTP companies and begin to negotiate with them individually. As you may know, bargaining on a multi-employer basis through the AMPTP is an option for the WGA, not a legal requirement. Each signatory employer is required to bargain with us individually if we make a legal demand that it do so.


We will make this demand on Monday December 17th and hope that each company responds promptly, in accordance with the law.

In the meantime, we urge you to support us and our negotiations team and leadership during these difficult times. We look forward to a making a fair deal that will resolve this strike, protect our future and put us all back to work, for the good of the industry and all of its employees.

Signed,

John F. Bowman, Chair

John Auerbach

Neal Baer

Marc Cherry

Bill Condon

Carlton Cuse

Stephen Gaghan

Terry George

David A. Goodman

Carl Gottlieb

Susannah Grant

Carol Mendelsohn

Marc Norman

Shawn Ryan

Melissa Salmons

Robin Schiff

Ed Solomon