Writers Strike - Day 29
a writer's perspective
The strike is now in week 5. I had to use a calculator to figure out that today was Day 29. The question I get constantly is “How long will the strike last?” In a post last week, I wrote that I was hopeful that the strike would end before Christmas. My answer today is very different than my answer was last week.
While walking the picket line has settled into an uneventful sameness, the behind the scenes emotional roller coaster has become anything but.
Early last week, off the record sources were suggesting that the producers would be putting an offer on the table that, in the least, would show that they intended to seriously negotiate with the writers. The fact that there was a media blackout in place was encouraging. The two sides could concentrate on getting the job done and not waste time playing games in the press.
The prevailing mood on the line was “Cautiously Optimistic” - a phrase used so often that it should have been trademarked by the Guild.
By Wednesday, the word on the street was that the producers weren’t making us a good offer at all. That they had basically put forward the same rollback-filled contract that was on the table before the strike began. To their credit, this time they were apparently very friendly as they were presenting us with this metaphorical “fuck you”.
The prevailing mood on the line, though not necessarily articulated as such, was Skeptical Pessimism. Not as catchy, I know.
By the end of the day Thursday, the AMPTP surprisingly broke the media blackout and issued a press release full of lies, hoping to deflect some of the vitriol aimed at them recently back at the writers. Somebody used the analogy of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick. I’d like to say “Damn you Producers for making us think you weren’t gonna pull the ball away!” But that Skeptical Pessimism paid off. I was disappointed, but, unfortunately, not surprised.
The prevailing mood on the line was “Yes. A Margarita Does Sound Really Good.”
A letter making the rounds this evening offers an insight into AMPTP strategy. It was written by WGA member Tom Schulman, who had the pleasure of eating a dinner several years ago with a former chief negotiator for “the companies”. Over the dinner, the former negotiator shared some union-busting secrets:
“Lower the expectations of the other side, divide and conquer.
Raise and lower the expectations of the other side, divide and conquer.
Do everything possible to destroy the credibility of the other side’s leadership, divide and conquer.
Use confidants and back channels to go over the heads of the stronger leaders to the softer targets. Divide and conquer.
When you figure out the other side’s bottom line, offer a fraction. It’s surprising how many times that stands.”
It’s not a shock to me that the ups and downs of last week were all part of a bigger strategy by the AMPTP to weaken our resolve.
It backfired.
The prevailing mood on the line today was commitment, pride, and determination. After a dip in numbers last week, the crowds were out in full force today. Writers have taken the events of the last week as motivation to keep strong.
So to answer the question “How long will the strike last?” Today my answer is “As long as it takes.”
photo by Heath Biter for LAist