Well, tonight we're rallying at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis, to hand out leaflets and let our fellow citizens know a little more about the strike. It's been cleared with the city, thanks to strike organizer Shawn Lawrence Otto (who wrote the movie HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, and whose wife is Rebecca Otto, State Auditor of Minnesota and a darned good Democrat).
This is not a picket of the Uptown, it's just an informational rally -- we won't be blocking access to the theater. We're just letting our community know that WGA members live all over the country, and we'll be giving them some information on the strike if they're interested
So if you live in Minnesota and want to say hello, and / or come out and support the strike, we'll be in front of the Uptown Theater from 5:00 -- 8:00 PM tonight. The Uptown Theater is at 1320 Lagoon Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408.
It's unseasonably cold tonight even for Minnesota -- which is saying something -- so tap your inner Viking for this one. We'll be dressed like Eskimos and stamping our feet to ward off frostbite, but this strike is crucial to us, so it's worth the discomfort.
And below is the latest about the strike from our union reps. Bottom line: the studios have shown just walked out on negotiations, showing amazingly bad faith, as they have all along.
Thanks for all your support!
Here's the strike bulletin:
AMPTP BREAKS OFF NEGOTIATIONS
Today, after three days of discussions, the AMPTP came back to us with a proposal that included a total rejection of our proposal on Internet streaming of December 3.
They are holding to their offer of a $250 fixed residual for unlimited one year streaming after a six-week window of free use. They still insist on the DVD rate for Internet downloads.
They refuse to cover original material made for new media.
This offer was accompanied by an ultimatum: the AMPTP demands we give up several of our proposals, including Fair Market Value (our protection against vertical integration and self-dealing), animation, reality, and, most crucially, any proposal that uses distributor’s gross as a basis for residuals. This would require us to concede most of our Internet proposal as a precondition for continued bargaining. The AMPTP insists we let them do to the Internet what they did to home video.
We received a similar ultimatum through back channels prior to the discussions of November 4. At that time, we were assured that if we took DVD’s off the table, we would get a fair offer on new media issues. That offer never materialized.
We reject the idea of an ultimatum. Although a number of items we have on the table are negotiable, we cannot be forced to bargain with ourselves. The AMPTP has many proposals on the table that are unacceptable to writers, but we have never delivered ultimatums.
As we prepared our counter-offer, at 6:05 p.m., Nick Counter came and said to us, in the mediator’s presence: “We are leaving. When you write us a letter saying you will take all these items off the table, we will reschedule negotiations with you.” Within minutes, the AMPTP had posted a lengthy statement announcing the breakdown of negotiations.
We remain ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high. We were prepared to counter their proposal tonight, and when any of them are ready to return to the table, we’re here, ready to make a fair deal.
John F. Bowman
Chairman, WGA Negotiating Committee
Contract 2007
Comments are closed on this story.