WGA West organizes first member meetings to discuss upcoming contract negotiations

The WGA West will hold its first general meeting on Saturday to discuss upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP for a new film and television agreement. Two more membership meetings are planned for later this month in Los Angeles and one in New York.

John August, a member of the WKV negotiating committee, recently spoke about his writing notes Podcast about the upcoming meetings and what members can expect as the process progresses. He also played down rumors of an imminent strike “because frankly none of us know what’s going to happen”.

“Anyone who is a WGA member should definitely go to one of the members’ meetings,” he said. writing notes Producer Megan Rao. “At these general meetings you will hear for the first time from the negotiating committee what the plans and priorities are. It’s also where people with microphones ask questions, give their real-time feedback – applause and cheers, and it all happens live and in one room. It’s not that much fun Script notes live show, but it’s probably more important.”

Rao asked him about rumors of a strike when the guild’s contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expires on May 1. ” she said.

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“It’s a bit annoying to be honest,” August replied. “The Guild did not press any of their proposals; We don’t know anything about what the companies will propose – so anything can happen, and it’s still pretty early. However, the studios and networks are definitely trying to prepare for it in case it does happen. You see they open the script rooms early – they try to get the scripts before May Day. This is quite normal in this schedule. And I can understand why writers and other people in this industry try to build up a little buffer when they can, because frankly, none of us know what’s going to happen.

August, who has served on the last four negotiating committees, told his audience: “We have been meeting for the last few months to prepare. It all started last spring with the member survey – there we find out what moves writers the most. They look for common themes; the staff does research to find out all the trends; about what writers earn; what happens in the studios; what happens to leftovers. So all these things happen behind the scenes. But these member meetings are the first opportunity to hear directly from us, and for us to hear from authors.”

He encouraged members to come to the meetings and hear first-hand what’s going on, saying, “What you’re going to see in the trade and on social media is going to be a lot — not necessarily misinformation — but how inaccurate or incomplete information . .. So take it all with a big grain of salt.”

He also noted that “once negotiations really start – once we get into the space with the AMPTP – it’s probably going to be very quiet for a while, and that’s not a bad sign – it just means that both sides have agreed to the King of .” keep it quiet so we can really deal with things. The members’ meetings – all the talk, talk, talk – take place before we enter the room.”

As for the process, he noted that “at some stage” the guild will announce its requirements pattern – the overall goals – after which members will be asked for approval.