Where are strikes taking place?

We've heard about the big strikes in Los Angeles, but where else are writers and fans striking in support of the WGA Strike? We the authors strongly feel that the general public hasn't really been made aware of the many different locations that demonstrations are taking place. The California WGA demonstrations are the most covered (proximity to major studios certainly has something to do with this), and some of the national and international demonstrations haven't been covered at all.

Here are locations that have held demonstrations or are scheduled to hold demonstrations. We plan to add to this list frequently when new locations turn up. Our goal here is to give the bare facts and show the average television viewer or internet poster the scope of the WGA Strike's influence. The list is as follows:

Los Angeles
West Hollywood
Manhattan
Baltimore
Seattle
Boston
Atlanta
London
Dublin (Ireland)
Brisbane (Australia)
Perth (Australia)
Toronto

So as you can see, there are lots of different places that demonstrations have occurred other than just the L.A. locations we always hear about on the news. We the authors urge everyone to check these and other locations out on their own time to stay informed about the many aspects of this strike.

J/R

What other blogs are out there? pt.1

Our goal with this blog, as we've said, has been to give the average person some factual, straightforward, and "in layman's terms" information about the WGA Strike and its impact on the average TV viewer or internet poster.

And of course we know that sparking one's interest in a topic is going to leave them hungry for more.

With that in mind, we're going to do our best to present you with other blogs that you can get some information from. It's only reasonable and fair that we show our support to other areas on the web that have content that our readers will find useful or reliable.

The first in this (we hope) weekly segment is the United Hollywood blog. It's a really great source of information about the many different aspects of the strike, and it covers several areas across the nation where picket lines have gone up and supporters have risen. From what we've seen thus far, this is a blog that is accessible to anyone and fair in its content.

Enjoy! And as always, link, post, and discuss!

J/R

Late Night Talk Shows returning: Info and FAQ

A lot of people by now have heard that certain late night talk shows, which have mostly been on hiatus since the WGA Strike, are now going back on air.

However it might not be clear to viewers and posters why, how, or what the facts are behind the returns of these shows or what their respective hosts think about going back to production.

Here's the information so far on 5 major late night shows that are confirmed to be returning to air by both the hosts and their networks:

-Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno have both returned to a regular schedule, and are currently filming new episodes. Both celebrity hosts are paying a downsized version of their original production staffs out of pocket, and are still openly supporting the WGA Strike.

-Last Call With Carson Daly went back on air without its writing staff on December 3. According to an article originally published by the Associated Press on December 25, "issued an ultimatum" telling Daly that if he did not "put on a new show by December 3 . . . 75 people would be fired." The article directly quotes Daly as making this statement. You can read the article in its entirety courtesy of Yahoo! News here.

-The Daily show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will also be returning to air on a regular schedule as of January 7 without their writing staffs. According to an article published by CNN.com, a joint statement was issued to the media by Stewart and Colbert saying that they "would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

We the authors have done some extensive searching for copies of this statement online, but have not found any nor have we the authors established whether Stewart and Colbert did or did not make this statement or if it was actually issued by a publicist(s). You can read the article in its entirety courtesy of CNN.com here.

As always, link, post, and discuss!

J/R

Why We Fight

heres a video break down on the main reason for the strike

So why should you care?

Like any story on the news, the first question on most people's minds is usually "Why should I care?"

Well, there are a few reasons to care about the WGA Strike. Here are four that we've come up with, in order of their importance to the average viewer or poster; we welcome everyone to post reasons of their own, and as always, to discuss everything posted.

Why should we care?

1. It seriously affects television programming.

It's no secret that without writers generating content, there can't be any scripted shows. Programs have had to either halt production, go on hiatus, or declare their future's uncertain at this point.

Here's a list of several popular television programs that are or have been affected by the WGA Strike (source: The Los Angeles Times online news article posted Nov. 9):

The View
The Daily Show with John Stuart
The Colbert Report
Saturday Night Live
Desperate Houswives
Grey's Anatomy
Ugly Betty
Lost
Boston Legal
CSI (including all spin-off productions)
Jericho
The Office
Law & Order: SVU
Friday Night Lights
Medium
Scrubs
Gossip Girl
One Tree Hill
24
Dirt
Prison Break

. . . And the list goes on. You can view the full list here.


2. It's more than just the writers who've lost their jobs.

Members of production crews, interns, and other jobs associated with studios have been terminated as a result of halted production. These are median-income individuals who, like most Americans, simply want to earn a living and are in the $30,000/year or less income bracket. Ending the strike creates jobs and allows these individuals to get back to work.

3. It sets the precedent for future labor union strikes in other fields.

Every time a labor union undergoes negotiations with a company, the outcome and the events of the strike itself set the precedent for future situations--a "ripple effect." If a labor union in any field of employment is treated poorly, or negotiations are mishandled, it sends a message to employers in different fields that handling their own disputes in that manner is either okay or effective. This creates a problem for any labor union in any field seeking change, effecting many different levels of other industries.

4. It could potentially lead to a strike by the Screen Actor's Guild and/or the Director's Guild of America.

Both the SAG and the DGA face the same issues that are being negotiated in the Writer's Strike. If a settlement of some sort is not reached in a timely manner, these other unions could possibly rally in support of their fellow union workers, creating an even greater gap in the entertainment industry.


J/R

About the WGA Strike

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions taken from the Fans 4 Writers web site that introduce the background and current information on the strike. The list has been excerpted for our purposes with thanks to the site's administrators.

(You can view the full list on the Fans 4 Writers' site here.)

Why are the writers striking?

TV and film writers are represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who negotiates their main labor agreement - the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) - with their employers, the producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Their current contract went into effect on November 1, 2004 and expired on October 31, 2007. Negotiations for a new contract began over three months ago, but the two parties could not agree, and WGA members went on strike Monday, November 5th, 2007.

The WGA said in a statement that "After three-and-a-half months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals. Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs and jurisdiction, has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."

Who, exactly, is striking?

Approximately 12,000 members of the WGA, who write primarily for TV and film. The Writers Guild of America is split into two guilds, West and East, which were jointly negotiating the new writers' contract and went out on strike together. (The guilds split the country at the Mississippi River.) WGA, East represents a smaller number of writers than its Western counterpart (about 4,000, with 2,500 who worked under the expired contract,) but about thirty TV shows will be affected in New York.

Writers for commercials, sports programs and reality TV are not covered under the guild contract. Writers for animation are in a grey area, with some TV writers being covered by the Writers Guild, while most animated feature writers are covered under Animation Guild Local 839, part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Some writers for these animated shows belong to both unions.

Who are the WGA striking against?

A large group of studios - the struck companies - as represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

What are the writers asking for?

Fair compensation - a minimum wage - for their creations in old and new media.

An increase in the percentage they receive from DVD sales of their TV show or feature film. They currently receive .3%-.36% of receipts; they are asking for .6%-.72%. The current DVD rate formula dates from 1985, when "home video" sales were not proven, and was, in fact, an 80% reduction of the 2.5% percentage they were asking for. Management said they would re-visit the home video percentage at a "later date," when the technology was less "risky" - but that long overdue date has not arrived, though video technology has changed to DVD, and DVD sales have taken off, providing a major studio income stream. The writers are being paid less for their work per DVD - about $.04 - than it costs to produce the plastic packaging that the DVD comes in. They are asking for about $.08 per DVD.

An increase in the percentage they receive from the digital re-use of their TV show or feature film - a rapidly expanding new market. They are asking for 2.5% of receipts for re-use on new media, including the Internet, cellular technology, and other new delivery systems. They have been offered only the .3% home video residual for digital re-use, though the WGA maintains that even under the expired contract, for either streamed or downloaded content, they are already entitled to 1.2% for feature films and TV shows when the viewer pays, and 2.0% for post-1984 TV product or 2.5% for pre-1984 TV product when it is free to the viewer.

The companies are refusing to pay anything for streaming content that is free to the viewer - though it is ad-supported - and they have been offering to pay the .3% home video residual when the viewer pays, as in an ITunes or Amazon download. This dispute is the subject of outstanding claims filed by the WGA, DGA, and SAG against the companies.

The companies claim that it's "too soon to tell" if they can make money from this business model, and they maintain that streaming content - even entire films, episodes or seasons - is solely for promotional purposes, and therefore should not be subject to most Guild pay scales and protections.

(Watch writers for The Office riff about full episodes of their show being shown for "promotional use".)

A minimum rate and residuals for material created expressly for the Internet and other new media, such as webisodes, mobisodes, video games, recaps and other short-form material that is filmed. They currently do not have a minimum payment protection for this material, and also receive no residuals, credits, or separated rights. (They do receive pension and health coverage for their writing in this area.) They are asking for 2.5% of receipts for re-use on all new media.

What about the TV/movie crews and staff losing their jobs?

As former and future co-workers of production staff, most writers take this aspect of the strike very seriously - they frequently express that one of their biggest concerns is about the employees and friends who are or will be losing their jobs as production shuts down - while those employees have tended to voice their support for the striking writers.

Most of the trade unions involved in the entertainment industry are also supportive of the strike and have been getting out the word to their members about their varyious legal rights concerning the picket lines (AFM, AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, Teamsters Local 399) and ramping up their support and charitable efforts on behalf of members affected by the strike. (IATSE's Broadway stagehands Local One are now out on strike themselves, against the League of American Theatres and Producers.)

Many see this fight as profoundly connected to their own future as union members, both directly and indirectly. As one Teamster (a location scout) explained it, "While I don't receive individual residual payments for my work as a teamster, my pension and health fund does. As the distribution stream goes digital those residual payments will slow to a trickle, and the fund will suffer. When the time comes I plan on being old, sick, and in need of Health Care. And the WB doesn't want me to have it."

What else does the WGA want?

They want to enforce and expand Guild coverage.

Enforcement of Coverage. For game shows, documentaries and talk shows, writing is supposed to be covered under WGA contract. The companies have on occasion failed to honor the contract, and to provide members with health coverage and pension -- and they have been known to fire anyone who asks for these benefits. They need to honor the contract.

Expansion of Coverage. The WGA wants to protect writers in reality shows and animation who are working without coverage (which means without health and pension and other labor protections.) Those writers should be covered.

Who else supports the writers' strike?

Actors - members of the Screen Actors Guild - have picketed with and supported the writers, and many have refused to cross picket lines to work. (Go to our gallery or search Flickr to see.) Both SAG and the DGA will be facing similar labor issues in June of 2008, when their own contracts expire.

Showrunners - executive producers of TV shows, many of whom are also writers - have been extremely supportive of the writers' strike, many refusing to cross picket lines, risking their jobs and hefty lawsuits in order to show solidarity with the striking writers.

Joss Whedon, WGA & DGA member, had this to say - speaking for many of us who support organized labor - in a recent post on the WHEDONesque fansite.

"Because this IS a union issue, one that will affect not just artists but every member of a community that could find itself at the mercy of a machine that absolutely and unhesitatingly would dismantle every union, remove every benefit, turn every worker into a cowed wage-slave in the singular pursuit of profit. (There is a machine. Its program is 'profit'. This is not a myth.) This is about a fair wage for our work. No different than any other union.

Welcome to our blog!

There's been a lot of talk lately about the ongoing WGA strike. Some are for it, some are against it, and some don't even know what it is or what it means.

During our research on the subject, we the authors found that there wasn't much information readily available to the general public about the entire affair; one would have to do some deep digging on their own if they wanted to know more about it. The strike is being covered on some major media outlets, but the information is scarce and the general public isn't being reached as often as they perhaps could be.

We've created this blog as a one stop source for all information relevant to the WGA Strike. Here you will find helpful links, current headlines, videos and podcasts from related individuals, and (of course) some opinions from not just we the authors but from you, the readers.

In no way are we using this as an open forum to advance our own agendas on any subject other than the WGA Strike. We've created this blog in the hopes that more people will become educated about the WGA Strike and, whatever side they support, they will become more informed media viewers and internet posters.

Thanks!

J/R