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  • Strike

    Hey all
    I'm a WGA member and it looks like we are gonna be striking.

    I just sold a pitch last week. Not sure what the offer is yet. Our lawyers haven't even started negotiating yet, let alone drafting the contract.

    How will it play out with regards to the strike?

    Is it in my best interest to speed the deal up and try and get it signed asap so that I can get paid commencement (at the very least)?

    If we do indeed strike, would I be breaching my WGA status by completing the assignment? Or is it just that I can't turn any work in while the strike is happening- which obviously doesn't preclude me from actually working on material

    Thoughts appreciated!

    MD
    Last edited by msdynamite666; 04-02-2017, 02:38 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Strike

    congrats on the sale!

    We may or may not strike, that remains to be seen.

    It's hard to hazard a guess not knowing what company you're dealing with and what kind of project it is, but I wouldn't count on the deal getting done by May 1st.

    But let's say it does and you get commenced. If we were to go on strike, you would have to stop work at that point or be in violation of guild rules. And the guild takes that very seriously.

    You can let your conscience dictate how much work you do on the project while we're striking - or you could work on a different spec.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Strike

      Congrats as well!

      I spoke with someone at the guild who specified that the strike pertained exclusively to writerly duties. What was less clear was producing duties, like say you were sent out to set to produce an episode and we struck, I'm not sure what would be the appropriate action then to undertake...

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Strike

        Originally posted by Wallman View Post
        Congrats as well!

        I spoke with someone at the guild who specified that the strike pertained exclusively to writerly duties. What was less clear was producing duties, like say you were sent out to set to produce an episode and we struck, I'm not sure what would be the appropriate action then to undertake...
        Hm. Not sure how that pertains to me since I am not a producer
        Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 04-03-2017, 07:41 AM. Reason: Fixed quote code.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Strike

          Originally posted by Wallman View Post
          Congrats as well!

          I spoke with someone at the guild who specified that the strike pertained exclusively to writerly duties. What was less clear was producing duties, like say you were sent out to set to produce an episode and we struck, I'm not sure what would be the appropriate action then to undertake...
          It's about more than "writerly" duties. It's also about keeping our health plan solvent. If we don't fix it, by 2020 it will be insolvent.

          Also, writer income is down 23%. Two years ago only 2% of producer level writers were getting paid scale. Today it's 51%.

          One of the bigger problems is exclusivity, meaning, if you are on a show with a short order (10-13 episodes) after the season is over, the studios can prevent you from staffing on another show because they want you available for the next season.

          There are other issues, like increasing VOD residuals, but these are some of the big ones.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Strike

            Originally posted by msdynamite666 View Post
            Hey all
            I'm a WGA member and it looks like we are gonna be striking.

            I just sold a pitch last week. Not sure what the offer is yet. Our lawyers haven't even started negotiating yet, let alone drafting the contract.
            Congrats!

            In reality, you probably won't have a signed contract before the strike starts, if there is a strike. (Which there may not be!).


            Is it in my best interest to speed the deal up and try and get it signed asap so that I can get paid commencement (at the very least)?
            Yes. Although, honestly, that's probably impossible at this point. That being said, because a strike increases uncertainty, and sometimes uncertainty means people change jobs, or people decide not to do deals they're already doing, you really want a signed contract before the strike.

            Although it raises the following issue:

            If we do indeed strike, would I be breaching my WGA status by completing the assignment? Or is it just that I can't turn any work in while the strike is happening- which obviously doesn't preclude me from actually working on material
            So, in theory, you shouldn't work on the assignment during the strike. Doing so is a violation of the strike rules and technically scabbing.

            And, you know, if you're commenced the day before the strike starts and turn in a draft the day it ends, you might get in trouble. On the other hand, if you've got eight weeks to do a draft and the strike lasts four, and you turn it in four weeks after the end of the strike, who is really to say that you didn't do all that work during those four non-strike weeks?

            If we have a three-month strike, like last time, (which we won't!) that's going to swallow up pretty much any feature job, and, yeah, you'd want to take a month (or longer) before turning something in.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Strike

              Not a WGA member, but can/should I continue to query my feature specs? Or is that a waste of time right now if there is a looming strike?

              Thanks for taking the time to reply!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Strike

                I don't see why not
                Originally posted by Nostalgialover View Post
                Not a WGA member, but can/should I continue to query my feature specs? Or is that a waste of time right now if there is a looming strike?

                Thanks for taking the time to reply!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Strike

                  Originally posted by msdynamite666 View Post
                  I don't see why not
                  although non-WGA members are entitled to approach and even work for signatory companies during a strike, it's still scab writing as far as the guild is concerned and if that writer were to later become guild-eligible, they could be barred from joining

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Strike

                    The threat of a strike has prodcos looking at being ready to have script deals in hand before a strike is officially called.
                    But "being ready" still doesn't mean a spec sales bonanza...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Strike

                      Originally posted by Nostalgialover View Post
                      Not a WGA member, but can/should I continue to query my feature specs? Or is that a waste of time right now if there is a looming strike?

                      Thanks for taking the time to reply!
                      If you're talking about finding a rep, that's probably okay. They'll have some time on their hands!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Strike

                        Maybe ask your reps and lawyer whether there's a chance of getting at least a CoA in place so you can be commenced.

                        I'm scrambling to deliver a draft in time to invoice pre-strike. It has to get through the producer read first, though, so it's gonna be tight.
                        https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                        http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Strike

                          Originally posted by msdynamite666 View Post
                          Hey all
                          I'm a WGA member and it looks like we are gonna be striking.

                          I just sold a pitch last week. Not sure what the offer is yet. Our lawyers haven't even started negotiating yet, let alone drafting the contract.

                          How will it play out with regards to the strike?

                          Is it in my best interest to speed the deal up and try and get it signed asap so that I can get paid commencement (at the very least)?

                          If we do indeed strike, would I be breaching my WGA status by completing the assignment? Or is it just that I can't turn any work in while the strike is happening- which obviously doesn't preclude me from actually working on material

                          Thoughts appreciated!

                          MD

                          Congrats!

                          Mercury is about to go retrograde. Never sign a contract during mercury retrograde. Wait til Mercury goes direct in about a month or so.

                          And certainly don't do anything against WGA guidelines.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Strike

                            I'm also WGA and I have an option contract that's been going back and forth between lawyers for almost 2 months. (We did the initial discussion and agreed verbally to terms, so I don't know what's taking so long to get the actual contract written.) My question is: am I allowed to sign the contract and receive payment if the contract isn't completed until after the strike begins? I wrote the actual script a long time ago.

                            There are terms in the contract for re-writes, so I assume if the producer wants one I won't be able to write that until after the strike ends, correct?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Strike

                              That's a good question for the guild.

                              It's possible they may want to close the option so that they can try to get a director or actor attached during a work stoppage.

                              And guild rules say no writing for studios (and producers) during a strike.

                              Comment

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