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[berzeli]

The strike authorisation vote for WGA was 96.3% yes.

edit: source of the image

 

[LegendofLex]

Please no, the last strike killed a bunch of shows I enjoyed.

Tell it to the networks.

 

[Rodney McKay]

At least this time there aren't really any shows I care much about like last time (Battlestar and LOST in particular).

But I hope the writers get what they feel is fair compensation and benefits. Do what you have to do!

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Shit. Will the new Bond film be affected?

 

[Socivol]

Well, it completely killed Heroes.

Yup that strike murdered Heroes and it was never the same after. The last strike really changed my TV viewing habits to where I rarely watched TV and that was stuck with me. I have cable and typically find it a hassle to watch things when they actually come on tv now.

 

[Squalor]

Yup, just got my e-mail.

Time to start looking for work.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Can anyone tell me which popular shows were truly adversely affected by the last strike? I know Lost was one.

Fun fact, if not for the writers strike, Jesse would have died at the end of breaking bad season 1

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Unfortunately the strike won't have a whole lot of impact in the short term. Most projects are done filming and it's gonna be quiet until the fall.

Of course it can at least derail the late shows.

 

[Zubz]

All of my regular shows don't seem to be in production at this moment except Steven Universe (Which is always at risk of cancellation, it seems), so I'm fine with this rolling ahead.

Yup, just got my e-mail.

Time to start looking for work.

Yikes... Any plans to do independent stuff in the interim?

 

[Thug Waffle]

Writers feel entitled?

Huh, that's news to me.

Please, fill me in on your obviously learned insight into my profession.

You feel pretty entitled to an explanation right now.

No need to get defensive. Writers should feel entitled. The average screenwriter is not properly compensated. Staffers hardly make more than low-level production employees (who are not so much underpaid as they are dangerously overworked).

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Only thing good from this im hoping for is it maybe buying Amazing Race some breathing room with CBS

 

[whyamihere]

Unfortunately the strike won't have a whole lot of impact in the short term. Most projects are done filming and it's gonna be quiet until the fall.

Of course it can at least derail the late shows.

There are like 450 scripted show right now. Only 80 are broadcast shows, and really, only 55 or so will return next season and are on a hiatus. There are so many cable and streaming shows in production at the moment.

It's going to hurt many cable and streaming shows that will have their premieres pushed further and further. And it means if it goes for 2 months almost no new broadcast shows will be ready for the fall, which is terrible.

 

[mrjohill]

I was watching scrubs the other day and these things do not end well for anyone 😔

 

[old manatee]

Literally all I do is stare at the TV, so it's a big personal sacrifice for me to say: STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!

 

[duckroll]

Please no, the last strike killed a bunch of shows I enjoyed.

Who are you pleading to? No one actually WANTS to strike ever.

 

[whyamihere]

Who are you pleading to? No one actually WANTS to strike ever.

And from the sound of the reporting on Variety (which has been very good), there's a possibility a deal will be made pre-May 1st.

 

[Squalor]

You feel pretty entitled to an explanation right now.

No need to get defensive. Writers should feel entitled. The average screenwriter is not properly compensated. Staffers hardly make more than low-level production employees (who are not so much underpaid as they are dangerously overworked).

Ha, that's a nice straw man you built yourself there.

You make a bogus claim. I ask what you mean. And then you make another bogus claim.

Please, your backtracking is just as piss-poor, too.

Yikes... Any plans to do independent stuff in the interim?

Well, I don't think this will be a long one like in 2007, which I was not a part of. So that's good. However, I'm going to look into doing some freelance work and focus more on my fiction writing.

 

[duckroll]

And from the sound of the reporting on Variety (which has been very good), there's a possibility a deal will be made pre-May 1st.

Yeah I think everyone agrees that a deal is what people want to see. But if it doesn't happen, a strike is a strike. Even the people striking don't want it that way. People should understand that.

 

[whyamihere]

I don't think the strike will be long if it happens fwiw

Yeah I think everyone agrees that a deal is what people want to see. But if it doesn't happen, a strike is a strike. Even the people striking don't want it that way. People should understand that.

Yup.

 

[Reagan's BR]

Such a weird industry.

 

[anarchycupcake]

Heard from some guild writers I work with today who said that the outcome is looking more like a strike won't happen/that it's looking more positive now. So hopefully things turn out well.

Remember, the writers just voted for the authorization to strike if a new contract is not signed. This does not mean they are going to strike. Negotiations are still ongoing. No need to lose hope yet!

 

[mreddie]

Wonder what happens to films coming in 2018/19 that haven't locked down a script yet.

Also, this is gonna fuck over the fall TV season but unlike last time, good. There isn't shit to watch.

 

[Einchy]

Who's ready for another gas leak year?

 

[NYCmetsfan]

As a worker, I'm with the writers. Hope you get a good deal, of not a stike is justified

Though obviously that's not what anyone wants

 

[GraveRobberX]

If you thought networks were complaining they weren't getting eyeballs to come to their channels right now, yeesh, it took awhile after the strike for people to come back to TV with that utter tripe of Reality TV taking over the air waves

I mean they should know that this will hurt the networks in the long run
Data proves it

Watch people Netflix/amazon binge to get caught up on other shows and not even give a fuck when Fall premieres come

 

[Maengun1]

Only thing good from this im hoping for is it maybe buying Amazing Race some breathing room with CBS

Lol this is my main thought as well.

I mean on principle I pretty much always support anyone striking for better wages/conditions. But as far as the selfish TV viewer in me is concerned, there's nothing scripted I care about being affected by this and I know TAR is basically as on the bubble as it could possibly be right now. If the scripted fall season gets pushed back a couple months it'll be saved for another year at least probably <3

 

[Cipherr]

Only thing good from this im hoping for is it maybe buying Amazing Race some breathing room with CBS

Hmm? Whats going on with TAR? I stopped watching it around season 20 lol. Its the ONLY form of "reality tv" I can stand.

 

[Maengun1]

Hmm? Whats going on with TAR? I stopped watching it around season 20 lol. Its the ONLY form of "reality tv" I can stand.

Its ratings have been slowly declining for years -- like pretty much all shows -- but it's just recently gotten down to the level where it's very low for CBS. They shelved the current season for 6+ months (it was filmed on schedule to be the fall season and they yanked it, then randomly threw it on the air just last month). TAR, like Survivor, typically runs 2 seasons a year but we're only getting this 1 this year and they've yet to renew it or say anything (whereas Survivor has already been renewed for the typical 2 seasons for next year).

The show has always been weird and had arcs of up and down ratings/attention, legend has it it came *this* close to being canceled after season 4 way back in 2003 but then it started winning emmys and it seems like some higher ups at the network have a soft spot for it. This feels like the most danger its been in since then probably.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Hmm? Whats going on with TAR? I stopped watching it around season 20 lol. Its the ONLY form of "reality tv" I can stand.

They put it on Friday nights fairly recently, then ratings were dropping.
now the fall season was held back till the end of March on Thursdays and its getting worse ratings I think(lowest I recall).

And this past week it was really worrying to see them show two separate episodes together(not a typical 2parter either)

 

[kurahador]

Will be interesting to see how Modern Family is affected. The casts doesn't even sign deals for post season 8 yet, and they are due for another raise.

 

[Vectorman]

Mr. Robot?!? Noooooooooooooooooo.

 

[MHWilliams]

It depends on how you define "good." Salary minimums from the current contract are higher than what most engineers in Silicon Valley (the typical example of "overpaid gentrifiers") get paid each week. Any role above the minimum is going to get paid more.

That doesn't count residuals or bonus payments.
Source:
http://defamer.gawker.com/heres-what-your-favorite-television-writers-make-1485130956
http://www.wga.org/contracts/contracts/mba

The primary reason individual writers are seeing salaries fall is the combination of shorter seasons (so if you're staff, a 10 episode show is only guaranteeing 14 weeks of pay, versus older shows where a 24-26 episode season was a lock) and competition for those positions.

Shorter seasons means at any given time there are more writers competing for the next contract.

That's not to say that TV writers shouldn't be trying to negotiate a better deal for themselves. Everyone wants to get the biggest paycheck they can get, but it's not like TV writers are working for minimum wage. They're already paid better than the vast majority of writers in the US.

This is missing a whole lot of extra pertinent information.

Let's go over it.

The strike partially deals with the pension of healthcare fund writers buy into, because for the most part, they're contractors, not staffed employees.

There are a lot of issues at play in the negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP, but first and foremost is the pension and healthcare plan that writers can buy into. Right now, there is a projected $145 million shortfall in the WGA's healthcare and pension fund, and neither side wants to cover it.

In many industries, employers pay for much of their employees' health insurance premiums, but it's a bit different in the entertainment sector. With writers seasonably employed and often working on different shows and movies, they get their insurance through the union. It's a big pool of customers, so they have more buying power, and the studios pay sponsors a portion of the tab. But as with every other industry, they're fighting over just how much the employer should sponsor, especially as health costs rise.

Studios want to spend $10 million less, while writers think the studios should pony up 1.5 percent more than the last contract required to cover the hole, especially given how profitable the industry has been of late.

Wait, but the studios are struggling! Nah, not really.

Last year, the big six studios &#8212; Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal &#8212; took in $51 million in operating profit. Obviously, that money mostly gets divvied up between employees and the cost of operations, but a nice chunk goes to corporate coffers. Most significantly, that $51 billion is double what studios made the last time writers went on strike.

While there are more movies and shows, that doesn't mean writers are making more money. In fact, while networks and studios have reaped bigger profits, writers have made decidedly less money. In 2015-16, the average TV writer-producer took home 23 percent less in salary than they had just two years prior. The median earnings dropped by an average 25 percent, and the number of writers who made the minimum allowed by the WGA shot up 20 percent.

Why? The shorter seasons. More work, less pay, meaning those number above don't really work out like they used to. Thus more and more writers are falling below the union's minimum pay agreement.

But the problem is that writers' per-episode compensation hasn't changed, which means they can receive the same amount of money for three or more weeks of work writing an episode that they typically would have received for two or less. That means the money writers would have earned for two weeks' work is now stretched over three or more &#8212; so they're essentially getting paid less for the same work.

And thus experienced writers who in the past would have been paid more than the union's minimum agreement are now earning the minimum. Between 2013-'14 and 2015-'16, writers (who typically are credited as producers on TV) earning the minimum rose substantially: executive producers and showrunners by 8 percent, supervising and co-executive producers by 16 percent, consulting producers by 24 percent, co-producers by 32 percent, and producers by 49 percent &#8212; for an average of 20 percent.

Between 2013-'14 and 2015-'16, writers saw their median earnings drop sizably: co-producers and producers by 19 percent, supervising producers by 12 percent, co-executive producers by 26 percent, consulting producers by 23 percent, executive producers by 8 percent, and showrunners by 21 percent. The average wage depression for writers was 25 percent.

But wait, Mike! They can pick up another show right? Oops. Nah.

And there's an important added wrinkle: Many staff writers on TV shows are held to exclusive contracts during the duration of the show's run &#8212; whether or not they're currently working on scripts for the show. So writers are not permitted under their contract to find other television work during a show's break to fill the compensation gap.

And in the case of TV writers, they're living in an around Los Angeles in most cases. The average Los Angeles cost of living is more than twice the national average. We had a thread which compared LA's cost to live comfortably to the median income. Using those numbers:

LOS ANGELES: $74,371

Los Angeles residents face high costs of living, which means living comfortably requires a higher income &#8213; $24,689 higher than the city's median income of $49,682.

What you essentially have is the same thing that happens when sports players strike. "They make too much already!" I mean, yes, but they're making less than they're worth to the team's owners. Likewise, writers are making less than they probably should and the studios can likely afford to pay it. So, strike.

Just as huge Wall Street salaries tend to be political piñatas, so does the take-home pay of the biggest CEOs in entertainment. CBS head honcho Leslie Moonves made a whopping $69 million last year, a 22 percent increase on the year prior, despite a down cycle for the network. Disney's Bob Iger made $44 million, and Netflix's Reed Hastings made $23 million. Fox also paid Bill O'Reilly $25 million to not work at all after he was ousted over a long record of alleged sexual harassment.

Oh, and I believe those WGA contract numbers are pre-tax. So, a salary of $96,000. Good. After taxes. Around $65,000. Bad.

All of this is a lengthy way to say, "Studios, pay your writers. Dive into exec salaries is you can't find the change."

 

[Cipherr]

Its ratings have been slowly declining for years -- like pretty much all shows -- but it's just recently gotten down to the level where it's very low for CBS. They shelved the current season for 6+ months (it was filmed on schedule to be the fall season and they yanked it, then randomly threw it on the air just last month). TAR, like Survivor, typically runs 2 seasons a year but we're only getting this 1 this year and they've yet to renew it or say anything (whereas Survivor has already been renewed for the typical 2 seasons for next year).

The show has always been weird and had arcs of up and down ratings/attention, legend has it it came *this* close to being canceled after season 4 way back in 2003 but then it started winning emmys and it seems like some higher ups at the network have a soft spot for it. This feels like the most danger its been in since then probably.

They put it on Friday nights fairly recently, then ratings were dropping.
now the fall season was held back till the end of March on Thursdays and its getting worse ratings I think(lowest I recall).

And this past week it was really worrying to see them show two separate episodes together(not a typical 2parter either)

Yikes I didnt know that. I hope it stays around; I think I understand what you mean now too. If theres a writers strike they will need shows like TAR to keep pulling its weight.

Interesting to hear it was almost cancelled after 4 seasons because the 5th season of the show was/is my favorite lol.

 

[Thug Waffle]

Ha, that's a nice straw man you built yourself there.

You make a bogus claim. I ask what you mean. And then you make another bogus claim.

Please, your backtracking is just as piss-poor, too.

lmao what? you sound like you were born with a stick in your ass.

literally 96.3% of voting screenwriters feel entitled to better compensation for their efforts. that's why they voted for a strike. no further argument to be had there.

and what's the bogus claim? that staffers are underpaid? that crew are overworked? that writers should feel entitled because they legitimately deserve more than what they currently receive?

staff writer i know on [shouldn't say what show] makes $1800/week. an ac on set would make at least that much, but they'd end up working 50-60 hours a week. more like 70-80 if you factor in OT and time-to-commute. hell, even coordinators in reality tv make as much as a staff writer on a big network show.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

I'm totally in favor of a strike, if only because it means we'll get Conan Primeagain

 

[jackal27]

Nooooo please guys my entertainment is the only thing keeping me going and Quantum of Solace was a lesson we all learned too well.

 

[Zeus Molecules]

Not again!...... Last time this happened TV devolved into reality TV everywhere and I swear to God it lowered the countries collective IQ because of it.

 

[Hazmat]

The last writer's strike mercy-killed the second season of Friday Night Lights and resulted in its glorious rebirth. You do you, WGA.

 

[Jason Frost]

So, is it today or tomorrow the last day for them to make a deal before the strike starts?

 

[Zenner]

So, is it today or tomorrow the last day for them to make a deal before the strike starts?

The current contract expires at the end of Monday midnight, so Tuesday would be the first day with no contract in place.

Even though the Guild has the Strike Authorization permission from its members, it doesn't automatically trigger a strike at the stroke of midnight, though. That's a call that someone gets to make. It's possible (if sides feel progress is being made) to continue for longer, without a contract in place - maybe a week, to haggle some finer details. (SAG-AFTRA went about 18 months without a new Videogames agreement being ratified, before finally triggering the strike action there). The WGA prolly doesn't have that much patience, though.

 

[Zenner]

Writers and Studios reach a deal:

http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-writers-guild-no-strike-20170501-story.html

“It came right down to the wire,” said one person close to the talks who was not authorized to comment. “We didn't get everything we wanted and they didn't get everything they wanted, which is usually the result of a successful negotiation. We made real and substantial gains for writers in a number of areas.”

It still needs a rubber-stamp from the WGA members, but negotiators seemed pretty happy with the deal, about 90 minutes past the midnight deadline. No pickets today, and the shows go on.

Next up - SAG-AFTRA negotiations start in a few weeks.