Writers’ Guild of America members authorize strike
By
Marc Wells
26 April 2017
An overwhelming 96.3 percent of the 6,310 members of the Writers’ Guild of America who cast ballots have voted to authorize the WGA to carry out a strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The WGA could call a strike as early as May 2, when the current labor agreement covering 12,000 Guild members on the West and East Coasts expires.
The union released the results of the weeklong voting on the eve of resuming negotiations with the AMPTP, which has remained steadfast in its determination to exact more concessions from writers.
Support for the strike is even higher than the last time a vote was cast in 2007, when 90 percent of almost 6,000 writers voted to walk out. Writers fought a determined battle for three months but the struggle ended with a February 2008 capitulation by the WGA, which accepted various loopholes that allowed the film and TV producers to prosper at the expense of writers.
As one veteran writer told the World Socialist Web Site, “As reported, overwhelming approval of a strike authorization vote. The context: soaring company profits from scripted programming across all platforms, while writers’ compensation plummets.”
One of the principal issues in the current struggle is the writers’ health care plan. In the 21st century, while corporations increase their wealth to unprecedented levels, writers are relying on depleted funds for this basic need. The predicted deficit of the union-controlled health fund is $135.5 million through 2020.
The AMPTP announced it would contribute $45 million, while the writers must pay additional contributions in the amount of $10 million. Worse yet, the $45 million offered by AMPTP would come from a…