UH has learned that as of yesterday, the WGA began an informal dialogue with one of the conglom bosses. The conversations were cordial and respectful on both sides.
This is the way that the DGA talks began -- with informal consultations at a high level between leaders on both sides. It is not negotiation, it's the precursor to negotiation, but the good news is that what Patric Verrone, David Young and John Bowman said at the captain's meeting yesterday appears to be very true: we are finally at a moment where the companies are ready to start seriously bargaining.
A letter was sent to membership last night, asking everyone to be patient and calm as we move forward. As frustrating as it is to wait, it's the best way to get the best deal possible.
From this point forward, if things go well, there will be little to print until the two sides move into formal negotiations -- and we shouldn't take that silence to mean anything negative. The WGA is crunching the numbers, everyone is communicating, and there's every reason to be hopeful.
And although there's a wide spectrum of opinion on the DGA deal, from embracing it to hating it, there's one thing that all commentators seem to agree on -- it was the WGA strike that made the gains possible. We provided the leverage that allowed the DGA to get things (like distributor's gross) that no one believed were possible, and that the DGA would not have even asked for without the backdrop provided by the strike.
Let's make this moment count by staying focused, calm, and ready to listen. [If you're wondering where the "endgame" comment is, I took it out because I realized it was a bad choice of words. I didn't mean in any way to suggest that we let up the pressure. -- LK] Stay on the lines, keep picketing, keep the pressure on. There's room here for the DGA deal to be used as a pattern but still get things that are specific needs and concerns of writers. We just have to let our leadership do the job.
No comments:
Post a Comment