(11-14-2007)
To the Membership:
First, I want to express my gratitude to all the members of the WGA, SAG, IATSE, and Teamsters, and all of the TV and film fans who have bonded together to help get our message across. The response from the community has been wonderful and we have much to be thankful for. Yesterday’s rally, with the entire roster of actors from several top TV shows, as well as some of the most influential feature actors in the business, meant more to our membership than we can express.
However, the reason for this message is the AMPTP has been making some misleading statements. I want to make sure you know the truth. They say writers are already paid residuals for digital downloads. What they don't say is that we are paid one third of one cent per dollar received by studios for digital downloads. One third of a cent. This is a paltry amount for work that we created. We currently earn two cents per dollar on ad-supported TV programming.
The AMPTP says that we were given $260 million in residuals in 2006. What they don't say is that this was our contractual share of over twenty billion dollars the studios made from work that we created. The companies’ rollbacks would more than cut our residuals in half.
The AMPTP says that when they walked out of negotiations an offer was on the table to pay writers for Internet streaming. This is misleading. What they don't say is that it was merely a partial offer, and there was nothing else but rollbacks on the table when they left. They have yet to deliver an economic proposal after three and a half months of our requesting one. We have presented them with ours, but they still refuse to negotiate.
Be forewarned, the AMPTP has a large advertising budget, and we can expect them to issue many more misleading statements. It's the only way they can divert attention from the fact that it was they who walked out of negotiations, and it is they who refuse every day to return. The WGA stands ready and willing to negotiate a fair settlement, anytime, anywhere.
Sincerely,
David Young
Executive Director, WGAW
Chief Negotiator, WGA