A continuing feud between IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees - representing film and theatre technical crews) and the Writers Guild of America has heated up dramatically. On Tuesday, IATSE president Thomas Short accused the writer's union of "irresponsibility and incompetence" for backing out of early producer negotiations for a new film and TV contract.
WGA president Patric Verrone and executive director David Young cancelled early talks aimed at settling a new contract between writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before September. The current contract expires on October 31, 2007.
"The fact that the WGA backed out of their own proposed talks shows their complete and utter disregard for the vast majority of motion picture and television workers in the entertainment industry," Short said. "A small faction inside the WGA is determined to undermine the health and welfare of an entire industry."
Short warned if a contract was not settled upon by September, as planned by the WGA, it would lead to an actual strike in Hollywood effecting 100,000 IATSE members.
Nick Counter, lead negotiator for the producers union, said that the WGA's resistance to early talks on a film and TV contract could prompt studio and network execs to act as if a "de facto strike" were in effect and begin to slow production almost immediately.
The WGA president sent an e-mail to WGA members this week calling Counter's 'de facto strike' talk as rhetoric and underscored his intent to delivering a new contract without a shut down. On Tuesday, the Writers' Guild responded to the Short statement from earlier in the day.
"The 'de facto strike' threat is a boogeyman conjured up by the AMPTP to try to intimidate Hollywood unions into giving up their most effective leverage," WGAW exec director David Young said. "It is unfortunate that president Short has joined with the AMPTP in using this scare tactic.
The flare-up is related to an ongoing debate over the jurisdiction of reality TV writer jobs. WGA has been campaigning to unionize reality "storytellers" because of the grueling work hours and lack of benefits from producers of reality TV.
Several months ago, the writers for "America's Next Top Model" went on strike for better working conditions only to be fired by the show's producers. The two unions are waiting for a decision by the National Labor Relations Board to determine if the fired writers should be represented by IATSE or the WGA.
On Monday, technical crew members of "America's Next Top Model" voted by secret ballot to be represented by IATSE. The union is now negotiating their first contract.
There's more to this story in The Hollywood Reporter
On The Web:
IATSE International Website
WGA West Website
AMPTP Website
