On March 24, after two weeks of frustrating contract talks, negotiators for the WGA (Writers Guild of America) notified the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) that, because the talks were stalled, they had no choice but to ask their 12,000 members to give them strike authorization. It was a bold move.
As sparklingly glamorous and self-absorbed as Hollywood’s entertainment business is, when it comes to contract negotiations between the AMPTP and the WGA (or the DGA or SAG-AFTRA), they’re depressingly similar to those between, say, a group of pipefitters and welders and the IAM (International Association of Machinists).
The issue is money, plain and simple. Money in the form of money, money in the form of benefits, money in the form of staking a claim to new technology. Accordingly, as in any contract negotiation, logic, honesty, fairness, and generosity will play no part. It all centers around muscle. Think of being hit with Hunter Thompson’s “million-pound shit hammer.” Hence, the threat of a strike as a weapon.
In truth, strike authorization, in most cases, doesn’t constitute a genuine “threat.” Yes, the negotiators need it to demonstrate that they’re serious (because you can’t go on strike without the membership’s okay), and yes, it counts as evidence that the rank-and-file is on their side, but beyond that it’s seen more as a display of saber-rattling and macho posturing than a prelude to serious…