WGA Voices: Aaron Mendelsohn

• As you may have heard, the contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on October 31, 2007. Currently, the WGA leadership has called for a strike authorization vote. I'll be writing more about that, and the issues involved, on this blog, as a two decade member of the WGA, and a former member of the Board of Directors. We'll also be posting what other people have written about it, and start today with this e-mail I just received from a good friend.

From Aaron Mendelsohn, WGAw Board of Directors

I am writing to all of you -- my friends and colleagues and writers I barely know whose e-mail addresses I happen to have -- to urge you to vote in favor of the strike authorization that your WGA leaders have asked you to support.

Why are you being asked to approve a strike authorization now?

Because there has been no movement on the part of the AMPTP in negotiations.  The draconian rollbacks they are offering is untenable (making residuals profit-based, gutting reacquisition, allowing movies and TV shows to run free on the internet as "promotion" etc.), and so far they have been completely, almost belligerently intractable.  We need to let them know that we are committed to our well-considered, realistic and reasonable proposals.  With the likelihood that distribution will be shifting to new media, we are pretty much screwed unless we can secure a fair share of all future revenue streams generated by our work.

Does this mean we will go on strike?

Not necessarily.  Of course it is a possibility.  It does not mean that a strike is inevitable, merely that the negotiating committee, with Board and WGAE Council approval, will have the power to call a strike if they deem that it is the only way to show the AMPTP our resolve and intent.

Would we go out on strike when our contract expires the end of October or wait until June when the SAG contract expires?

That's up in the air.  We are discussing the pros and cons of the timing.  We are hoping that if the AMPTP understands we are genuinely willing to cut off their oxygen supply -- the scripts that are the foundation and blueprint for every movie and TV series that's made -- so that serious negotiations can finally begin in earnest.

I am on both the WGAW Board Of Directors and the Negotiating Committee.  I want to assure you that my colleagues are not hot-heads or "strike-happy."  They are merely tired of writers being treated as if we don't deserve a fair share of the pie.  I personally DO NOT WANT TO STRIKE.  With a wife and two kids and a mortgage, it scares me to death that I may be out of work for what could be a long stretch of time. There's only one thing I'm more afraid of than going on strike, and that's putting my future and the future of all writers in the hands of multi-national corporations. 

I hope you'll support this vote. We need both a large turn-out and an overwhelming "yes" vote to send the companies a strong message.  If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.  And if you see the value in what we are doing here, I would appreciate it if you could forward this letter to every writer you know.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Aaron Mendelsohn

• From Bryce: Yes, both my wife and I have returned our ballots, granting the WGA the right to call a strike. More on that later.