WGA Rank and File Authorize Strike

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have voted to authorize a strike. 90.3% of the record 5,507 ballots counted gave permission to guild leaders to call for a work stoppage if demands, such as coverage for online scribes and new media residuals, aren’t met. “What we must have is a contract that gives us the ability to keep up with the financial success of this ever-expanding global industry,” said WGA West President Patrick M. Varrone in the announcement.

The audience at last night’s member meeting in Los Angeles was characterized as “pro-board through and through” according to Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikke Finke, who was also informed that the guild wouldn’t necessarily call a strike until possibly the end of the year in order to maximize its bargaining power in talks with the American Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios.

Update: “We are not surprised with the outcome of this vote, given reports of how this election was conducted,” writes AMPTP President Nick Counter in the producer’s official response to the tally.

I asked a Hollywood insider involved with online media if a strike would present an opportunity. Could studios pour resources into online media as they did with reality at the turn of the century? Could writers and other talent cut the studios out of the equation by appealing to audiences directly via web distribution?

He said there’s still concern that since “new media” has never been covered under contract, it’s not clear what work writers can and can’t do online — do the WGA rules bar members from doing online work only for struck companies? And with so many studio subsidiaries and independents, what qualifies as a struck company?

Finke suggests that there won’t be a strike immediately after the contract expiration. The DGA could be considering starting negotiations early in order to forestall a shutdown, but the nearly unanimous yes votes puts the WGA in a strong position. The two parties return to negotiations on Monday.

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