Bold opening: A staff walkout at WGA West shines a revealing spotlight on the widening rift between leadership and rank-and-file amid looming negotiations with Hollywood’s top studios. But here’s where it gets controversial: the timing and the accusations on both sides are stirring strong opinions about how unions and management should behave during contract talks.
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) staff has initiated a strike.
A month ahead of scheduled negotiations between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the_WGA West Staff Union (WGSU) announced a work stoppage until further notice. WGSU members are expected to picket outside the WGA West offices in Los Angeles.
The union organized last spring and has been negotiating its first contract with management on and off since September. WGSU has repeatedly accused management of bad-faith bargaining, asserting that employers have surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in surface bargaining with no real intent to reach agreement on most core issues.
These actions follow the WGSU filing a unfair labor practices (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that a member of the organizing committee was unlawfully fired.
In a Tuesday statement, a WGA West spokesperson said: “The WGAW respects the staff union’s right to strike and will continue to bargain in good faith. In 19 negotiating sessions since September, the Guild has offered the staff union comprehensive proposals with robust protections and improvements to compensation and working conditions. WGSU’s allegations of unfair labor practices are without merit. The WGAW Board, WGA Negotiating Committee, and executive staff will continue to prepare for upcoming MBA negotiations, and management staff will carry on the Guild’s core functions. We look forward to resolving a first contract with the staff union.”
Earlier this month, after the WGSU authorized a strike, the WGAW published a side-by-side comparison of proposals and counterproposals from both sides.
On Tuesday, the WGAW notified members that guild headquarters would be closed to members and the public until further notice, and all upcoming guild events—including two meetings this week to discuss bargaining priorities ahead of AMPTP talks—were canceled.
The timing is particularly awkward given that the WGA is preparing to begin negotiations for a new TV/theatrical contract with major Hollywood studios in March, with the current contract set to expire on May 1.
The WGAW staff union is represented by the Pacific Northwest Staff Union. Its membership includes residuals and dues processors, IT and data management personnel, organizers, communications specialists, legal staff, researchers, Writers Guild Theater employees, contract enforcement personnel, and other roles.
