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Writers Guild Strike
Johnny C:
I can't read it but I assume it's talking about the Director's Guild Of America?
Don't power up your TiVos just yet.
KvP:
It's not a crushing blow, exactly, but part of the WGA's strength is its solidarity with the actors' and directors' unions. Each deal the producers strike shrinks the ground the WGA stands on.
Johnny C:
I remember reading an article in the Globe & Mail a couple months back talking about the Directors Guild contract negotiations going much better than the Writer's Guild negotiations and the Actors Guild negotiations. Let me see if I can find it.
Right, here it is.
--- Quote ---And there's one more piece to the labour puzzle: The contract for the Directors Guild of America also expires June 30. Those talks are set to begin soon and word is a settlement will be more easily reached, but if the writers don't settle and the actors walk, a Directors Guild deal certainly will not save the day for Hollywood – or Vancouver.
--- End quote ---
Do you suppose the Directors Guild used the strike as leverage?
KvP:
It's certainly a possibility. The Director's Guild's deal was a smarter and more reasonable one than what the writers have been asking for anyhow. It won't single-handedly fell the strike, problem is, the writers are already too deep into "making a stand" for this to have that kind of effect, but it could be the start of a downward trend. We'll have to see how it plays in the coming days and weeks.
It's going to be interesting to see how the 1500 DGA members that are also a part of the WGA will vote for the directors' proposal, because an affirmative would basically be a negative vote in WGA leadership.
Alex C:
The whole situation is rather surreal for me; I don't really watch television nor do I care about it enough to have any value judgement about whether or not reality tv is any worse than scripted shows, so in a way the strikers are providing me with more entertainment (I find the ramifications and back business considerations interesting) now that they're out of work than they did when they were employed. I honestly feel somewhat guilty about it.
Anyway, I'm just going to go by my gut feeling and past experience and say that I always expect the guys with the fancier suits to win in any given American labor struggle. I really don't think the WGA has a chance in hell; rich people aren't rich because they give things away. They might get some concessions, I guess, but I don't really expect them to get anything but a pyrrhic victory out of this at best.
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