TVSquad

"I'm guessing the writers make more money than many of the "staff" positions."

More than the majority of Americans in general, probably.

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Sure--WHEN they're actually working on a successful series. But that salary has to work for them during all the down time when they're not. And the studio then has unlimited ability to re-use their work online without compensation, and for literally pennies per DVD sold. The strike is not about the writers earning great money right now--it's about all the rest who are trying to land their next job (which will include the "Office" writers, someday).

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I know if it were me being laid off, I'd blame the writers.

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Why do people insist on blaming the writers? This notion that they are some how greedy, when these studio heads are pulling in millions, is so off the mark. Scott is right-- the money writers make often lasts them longer than your average paycheck. Don't people realize how long it takes to develop original material, let alone get it through the studio system to actually be made. Sometimes you wait years for a deal, at least on the film end. Striking writers are also out of a job and their families are vulnerable as well, and no, they don't all live in mansions. It's just easier to blame the writers rather than think about the complexity of the issue. Once the computer replaces the television, the writers will be screwed if they don't have residuals in place.

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Cameron,

I feel that if the writers do not like the conditions at their jobs they should just find another job. Every firm's bottom line is to make a profit, and the parody in salaries between upper management and employees is always going to be unfair. What I find unfair is the fact that some jobs have unions and some don't. The people that do not have unions, not only have to deal with occasional unfair treatment they are also affected by other workers that strike.

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Well put Scott. A lot of people think that the writers have job security and work all the time. When a show ends, so does their salary until they write for another show and those jobs can be few and far between.

@At-will-

"What I find unfair is the fact that some jobs have unions and some don't."

You can also use the advice from the beginning of your comment to those who find it unfair, to leave their non union jobs and get one, or form a union of their own.


There is nothing unfair about being in a union at all. Yes the producers are in it for a profit, but so too are the writers, actors, etc. Since the writers are a commodity that the producers need, the writers have a certain level of power and were able to organize a union to protect their best interest. No one is forcing them to use union labor. They can go out tomorrow and hire non union work, but they do not want to put up with the grief of striking writers, and hiring sub-par writers, they will have to go back to the table and work out a deal.

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Put it in perspective. These 102 people are hoping just to bring home a paycheck, while the writers are striking to increase their already large pay packets.

As for saying that the "salary has to work for them during all the down time when they're not. And the studio then has unlimited ability to re-use their work online without compensation, and for literally pennies per DVD sold."

Firstly, that example is true of every profession. During "down time" nobody's getting paid. The actors and writers get residuals - that's a whole lot more than what the rest of the crew people can hope to get. As for saying condescendingly that it is "literally pennies", they all add up. In fact, one of the sticking points in the initial negotiations was to receive 2 pennies more per DVD.

I do blame the writers unfortunately. Not for wanting their dues but for striking at this point of time in the season instead of at the end of the regular television season, they would have gotten stronger support from SAG then as well. It just stinks of petty acrimony, a classic case of cutting off the nose to spite the face, and now nobody's winning.

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"Not for wanting their dues but for striking at this point of time in the season instead of at the end of the regular television season"

When do you think they write the scripts? They could strike at any time of the year and it will have a significant impact. They do it at the end of a season, then the next season start time becomes indefinitely delayed and financial damages from the early sweeps months from lost ad revenue is still there.

Sure a lot of jobs have down time, but those are usually seasonally related and can be planned for. A writer can be out of work for several years on end. Sure they can find another job, and many due, but when you have resources available to you, you use them. The WGA is the writers resource to protect their best interest.

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Mel,

How much money do the writers make?

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Amazing.
For the record, what the producers are holding on to, the internet, includes a loophole that allows them to air the material, in perpetuity, without residual payment, as long as they call it "promotional material". It's a wording that, if the writers lose the strike, means that residuals are gone forever.
Which is great for the company and it's stockholders and unbelieveably bad for the people that do the work.
Writers, actors, musicians, fuck them, right? I mean, they CHOOSE do do this. If they don't like the way untalented, number crunching middle management wants to pay them, well that's just too bad.
Unreal.
And when i read idiots on these boards siding with the companies especially with the (grossly misinformed) statements about writers being rich and greedy, I have to wonder: Just what was the American Dream all about? I thought it was about doing what you want, having freedom and getting paid, even becoming wealthy without being a slave to unfair wages. I thought the dream was something everybody wanted.
I guess I was wrong. I guess the world is populated with an enormous group of folks who love corporations and just want the writers to get back to work so they 'kin watch their progrems, ma!"
It shouldn't matter how much anyone is making, income needs are subjective. The point isn't the dollar amounts. The point is having been lied to. Having promises taken away. Not receiving compensation for doing your job.
Residuals aren't bonuses. They are promised money for completed work. Read what the Criminal Minds producer wrote on his blog and you will understand.
http://criminalmindsfanatic.blogspot.com/2007/11/edward-allen-bernero-speaks-to-fans-of.html
This is about greed. This is about parity. (And it's not parody, "at-will-employee", sheesh, no wonder writers get paid well....) This is about compensation. If you wrote something, say on your own blog, and discovered that I reposted it on my blog and suddenly readership went up because of it and I made a ton of advertising cash, you would want a piece of that, wouldn't you? This really isn't all that different. You might say, well, you stole my work and I should be paid. To that I would respond, "What's worse? My stealing it and making a bundle or us having an agreement that I would pay you and then reneging on it. Then using your written work in the magazine version of my blog. Then as a commentary on the television show that I got, in large part, because of that piece that you wrote and were never paid for."
Think about it. The trickle down from this is enormous.You like your shows? Great. Hope you can find someone good to write em because if I can't make a livable wage (again, that's subjective. What I need to live on is different than you and you don't get to judge what I need to sustain my life and family) in television then I'm going to ply my writing craft elsewhere. I'll write books, magazine articles, etc etc. And you won't have your tv shows. And you will complain that the writing has gotten so bad it's impossible to watch. Because, regardless of the fact that you have fingers and can move them around a keyboard, you are not a writer.
Then the actors will say the same thing. Like in the commercial strike of 2000, which I was involved in. The commercials were so awful, the non union, non professional talent were a nightmare for the producers and they know that. Everyone was hit hard because they chose to use non pros. What happens to the commercials and movies and programs when the talent says, fuck this, I can make more money doing theater or teaching or....whatever?
Great, right? Screw them, they're greedy anyways.
Until you complain about the quality of the movies and tv shows and get pissy and bitch about them here and in other places.
You want quality? You have to pay for it. In a house. In a chair. In a script. It has to be created. And the people that create it deserve to be paid.
Read the article. Then close your eyes and dream of a life where you aren't a slave to an hourly wage because you can't do anything else. Imagine a world where you get paid to do something that you are good at. And then imagine that everyone wants to steal that from you and then call you greedy for wanting to get paid.
Unreal.

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@This...
Just to let you know if you post over 150 words it is more than likely your reading audience will fade out. By the way thanks for correcting me, for some reason I always use the word parody in the wrong context.

I know it is not fair that the "middle management" reap the rewards of the writers, however I don't think it is just the writers that add to the show. Since that is the case I don't think that they should have gone on strike knowing that it will have an impact on everyone from the key grip to the fans.

As for unions everyone should have one for whatever job they have or they should just do away with them. Unions should be replaced with common sense legislation. Just think about it, because of unions many states are operating with a negative budget. With the global economy, it is immpossible to compete with the other countries, just look at GM.

"no wonder why writers get paid well...." You ended your thought with four periods when it should have been three. So many stupid lil' rules to writing... I say as long as the reader get's your point who cares.

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At-will, four periods is correct, because it was the end of the sentence. Three periods for the ellipses, plus one for the period.

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LOL! I guess writers have to do something on strike. Thanks Jack, I really didn't know that I always thought it was three periods.

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@ At-will - You sound like a socialist one second, and a democrat the next. People shouldn't go on strike if it affects other people? That's what strikes are all about. Strikes are about showing the company you work for how much you are worth by not providing it for a time. For the writers to deal with this losing situation to keep the makeup and lighting people in jobs would be noble but stupid.

Then you talk about unions being replaced by common-sense legislation... but have you ever actually seen any common-sense legislation? No, because all our legislation is passed through a filter of lobbyists, including many who work for the movie industry's interests. When all legislation has a pro-corporate slant, a union is necessary to protect the workers.

The writer's provide a valuable service and the studio system is doing everything in its power to screw them out of the money they deserve for the work they do. And so the writers have stopped writing, which is the only step in THEIR power to fight for their rights besides negotiations.

Oh, and I read every word of the post by "This is too", 150 words or not. Apparently good writing keeps people interested. And if your second "parody" line was a joke... I don't get it.

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@ At-Will

A few more

First, apologies for the extra commas and apostrophes in my last post. My bad, I see them too, no need for a snappy rebuttal about my grammar. I am just a fan, not a writer.

Second, I didn't really mention the issues. People who do work deserve to be paid for it. Under what the industry proposes, a writer could write an episode of a show, that show could air one time and the writer would receive a check, and then they could run it online, in full, with revenue-earning commercials... and pay the writers absolutely nothing. Ever. If they replayed an entire show on tv, the writers would get paid, but by replaying it online, the writers get nothing, even if the studio earns a profit, even though it wouldn't exist without the writers' hard work. It's just completely unfair, especially as the entire movie and tv industry begin migrating material to the web.

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Dear Steve,

It does stink that the writers are not getting ALL that is due to them, but unfortunately that is just the way the world works sometime.

For instance, you have Solders fighting, and not earning enough money to pay their bills at home. Then on the other hand you have "contractors" making three times as much, is it fair, heck no.

All I am saying is that these writers should have thought about the people under them first. By striking they are just as guilty as the producers.

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"All I am saying is that these writers should have thought about the people under them first. By striking they are just as guilty as the producers."

Actually they don't have to think of the workers under them. Many of them are in respective unions themselves. The writers guild is only responsible to the members themselves. They cannot settle for less because other workers will be laid off. Would you make your own employment decisions based on your own needs? or based on how it effects others who make a living off of you, such as landscapers, babysitters, etc?

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"I do blame the writers unfortunately. Not for wanting their dues but for striking at this point of time in the season instead of at the end of the regular television season, they would have gotten stronger support from SAG then as well. It just stinks of petty acrimony, a classic case of cutting off the nose to spite the face, and now nobody's winning."

Dude, that's the whole point of timing a strike. You do it when it affects business the MOST so they can see how valuable you are and how much they need you and your services. It also makes the bargaining go by faster.

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"All I am saying is that these writers should have thought about the people under them first. By striking they are just as guilty as the producers."

So essentially, unless you're at the bottom rung in an employment ladder, you have no right to make a statement for your own well-being?

Personally, I don't totally believe in the "modern union". I think they were far more necessary when they first started popping up, but today in our culture union heads are often just as guilty as corporations of being wealthy, insincere, corrupt, and serving their own interests. However, on occasion, they prove to be needed, as do strikes.

I would guess that the majority of working writers out there do not bring in as much per year, overall, than key grips, hair and make-up people, or camera operators. While an experienced worker in those fields will be able to find regular work after a movie is finished shooting or a TV show is cancelled, writers sometimes go years between projects. And I'd be willing to bet that a low-level staff writer makes quite a bit less than a head writer on a TV show. So why don't those writers, who aren't making much to begin with and could go a few years between gigs, not deserve some small income during those downtimes?

The fact that NBC is so quickly laying off employees (they're talking about gutting late night television by the end of the week) is totally on NBC's head. They are using this as a negotiating tactic to try and guilt the WGA into signing a deal they don't want to sign. It's evil, and it's not going to work. The writers are not laying anybody off. It's a tactic often used by big companies when dealing with striking workers: blame the striking workers for the loss of jobs in other related fields. But that's the whole point of a strike -- to show that their jobs are important and necessary, and they refuse their services until they are satisfied with their compensation for those services. Seems pretty fair to me.

But wait, why don't people get upset when a network CANCELS a TV show, thus putting 100 "regular people" out of work? Networks cancel shows all the time -- and they cancel lots of them. And they're often applauded for their decision. In fact, people on blogs all over the internet are constantly calling for people to cancel this show or cancel that show. Don't these people realize that the shows they want off the air employ 100 people?!?

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Sorry, I'm going to have to take the writer's side on this one. Many of these 102 other workers belong to unions that may strike someday, which would put writers out of work. The fact is, it's the studios' responsibility to keep their employees satisfied. It's their fault that it's come to this.

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