One Big Union

On November 29th the AMPTP put forth an insulting and incomplete proposal and promised the rest this week.

As Patric Verrone explained today, last Thursday, the AMPTP promised to offer up the second part of their “breakthrough” proposal. A week later, they still haven’t added to the initial and unacceptable offer. The back channel conversations have only increased the widely-held impression that the AMPTP wants to prolong the strike. During the week, we’ve heard that two PR firms specializing in crisis-management have been hired by the studios at great expense, in an apparent effort to put an avuncular mask on the scowling face of the AMPTP negotiators.

Every indication from the AMPTP is that their negotiators are getting ready to storm out of the room, exiting with their usual hand-wringing lament that writers are an unreasonable bunch of emotional artists.

Clearly the AMPTP would like us to think that we are victims in a trap of their making. They would like us to fear that they hold all the cards, that we have no power, that we are doomed. All that will save us is to accept their offers (whatever they actually are) and return to the comfort of their bosoms.

As much as the AMPTP wants us to feel helpless, the facts of the past week suggest otherwise. We’ve all read here and in the news that the companies are being hurt by the strike.

Television networks are having to give back advertising revenue because ratings have fallen off, especially in late night, normally a cash cow. Targeted by fans, advertisers are actively considering pulling their ad dollars from networks until the strike is concluded. More and more financially important tent-pole movies are falling off the studios’ production schedules. The stock prices of the AMPTP member companies are dropping.

The rest never came. Yesterday the AMPTP delivered an ultimatum and left the bargaining table. These bastards have not been negotiating in good faith.

Jane at Firedoglake has put together a tool to let television viewers write to the executives and CEOs of the corporations that produce their favorite shows. This makes it easy for anyone to write an email to Les Moonves or Sumner Redstone or Rupert Murdoch and let them know how much they love their shows and how much they want the producers to sit down, negotiate in good faith, and make a fair deal with the WGA. If you’ve been wondering what you can do to let the members of the AMPTP know directly how you feel about their union busting tactics here is an easy way for everyone to help out. Just click the link, select your favorite show, or shows, and let the CEOs know that you want them to get back to the bargaining table and make a fair deal. Here is the default text of the email that will be sent. Of course, if you are a writer, you can also write your own:

I cannot tell you how many hours of pleasure the creators and writers of this show have brought into our lives. It is for that reason that I write to ask you to treat those writers fairly.

The writers are asking for a fair share of internet and new media revenues–revenues you yourselves trumpet loudly. Robert Iger talks about “a billion five in digital.” Sumner Redstone says, “Viacom will double its revenues this year from digital.” Rupert Murdoch says the digital era holds “golden opportunities.” Disney’s annual report says, “The popularity of the ABC.com player adds to the Company’s considerable success in monetizing its biggest hits.” Les Moonves says that when five million people watch CSI on the internet, “We will get paid for it regardless… We’re going to get paid no matter where you get it from.” (He projected a two billion dollar profit from that show alone.) Yet the Alliance of Television and Motion Picture Producers (AMPTP), negotiating for your company, says that the internet and new media markets are still too iffy, too conjectural to give writers a fair piece of. Worse, it claims the right to stream entire movies and whole television episodes, with advertising, for “promotional” purposes, without compensating the writers for this re-use. These positions do not make common sense. (When studios and networks doesn’t get paid, it’s called “piracy.” When the studios and networks don’t pay writers, it’s called “promotion.”)

Please tell the AMPTP to negotiate fairly so that the television season–and my favorite show–can resume. I love watching it, but I love the idea of treating its creators and writers fairly even more.

Contact the CEOs here.

We are all on the same page.