Strike Watch 2007: The Negotiations

Both the AMPTP and the WGA revealed their initial proposals yesterday, and predictably, they both said the other was out of their minds and that their demands were unrealistic and unfair. As a refresher, here's that the WGA is after (in broad strokes) according to the LA Times:

Writers Guild of America negotiators are seeking to double the rate of compensation writers receive from DVD sales, want union pay and benefits for writers working in reality television and on basic cable shows and are proposing a much higher rate of pay when shows are downloaded from the Internet.

The AMPTP, on the other hand, is saying that the WGA has two choices when moving forward, according to Variety:

Maintain the status quo via a three-year contract that provides for a study centered on revamping compensation in order to figure out how to pay writers from revenues from the plethora of new-media platforms. Agreeing to the study would keep the current residuals system in place with increases in salary minimums to be negotiated.

If there's no study on revamping compensation, the companies will play hardball and demand a four-year deal that will institute a recoupment-based residuals system -- meaning that writers receive residuals only after companies have made back their basic costs of development, production and marketing.

The WGA has already dismissed the idea of a study proposal as well as the recoupment-based residual system. Both sides are currently reviewing proposals and will reconvene tomorrow with their responses. Also in the Variety coverage, reporter Dave McNary makes an interesting historical observation about the public nature of the proposals that may suggest how these talks will eventually play out:

In a reflection of the high stakes, it's also the first time that proposals have been disclosed in a guild negotiation since SAG and the ad industry did so seven years ago. In that case, a six-month strike ensued.