Screenwriting : WGA Strike. What happens to scabs? by Scot Michael Walker

No real producer or studio is going to buy your screenplay during a strike. First of all, a real producer or studio would only take a script through an agent, and most agents wouldn't submit during a strike. If you are not a guild member and some producer (not a Guild signatory either) -- maybe Asylum, or some small foreign company, pays you a pittance for your screenplay during the, let's say, two to six months of a strike, you can do that. I don't think you should. Now, let's say your agent gets your script to a Real Producer and the next day the WGA goes on strike. The RP might call you and say "I love this! Don't change a comma! I want to pay you a million dollars for this--plus points!" Well, great. Now, will there be a check in the mail the next day? It's possible -- but very doubtful. You, as a non-Guild person, can sell, but if the RP is a signatory or plans to ever work with signatories again, he will be making himself a target for WGA retribution. The WGA may encourage members to boycott the RP...and the RP doesn't want that aggravation. The RP could do a deal on the side; but a) if it's found out, there will be trouble for the RP and b) if an RP really want to pay a million dollars for a screenplay, he wants that known -- but an RP wouldn't say "I just paid a million bucks for a script during a strike!" Still, option a) is a possibility. More likely, an RP would tell you how much he loves it, and tell you to wait until the strike is settled, at which point he'll pay you. What are you going to do? An RP is promising you a million dollars in a few weeks or months. You'll wait. It's not like you can take it anywhere comparable. But MOST likely is that no one who can offer you real money will do so during a strike, although super-low-budget non-signatory companies can.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-sets-strike-vote-cal...

Sometimes you pick the scabs. Sometimes you let them heal.

During the strike, write spec scripts. Rewrite them. Make them great. Be ready when the strike ends. When it's over, go supersonic.

Personally, I would discourage pitching, submitting, signing any contracts or attempting to make any deals during the strike. By the way, outlining a script is writing, too. Bear in mind, query e-mails are forever.

The writer's career path is long and slippery. A little patience during the strike ensures you don't spill anything hazardous on that path and preserve your end game in a good way.

Unions can be a writer's friend. Years ago, the National Writers Union ( I highly recommend for novelists, online contributors, NWU.org) came to my aid when I was illegally (as in, violating the terms of my contract) by a large Internet provider that purchased the company for whom I was writing in a third-party contract for a media-based website. They were fabulous and I was stunned by how quickly the hard line corporation softened under NWU persuasion.

Whether a member of the Guild, one of its Caucuses, or not, I am encouraging my script peers to be in compliance with and honor the strike should it occur.

Sometimes, when I have nothing else going on, I come to stage32 just to see what Phillip E. Hardy has to say. Laughing my ass off :)

This explains it all quite well. You're not a scab if you're not a WGA member. You're just on the other side of the wall:

http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip142.htm

The chances of selling a script to a producer with an agreement with the WGA is impossible during a strike. I do not believe even one script was sold from a beginner to a signatory producer during the 07/08 strike. If you sell to a non-signatory producer (and you are NOT a WGA member) there will be no repercussions.

But it is kinda fun to think about getting your big break during a strike I guess.

Lots of great info. Thanks, everyone!

Been wondering about the pitch websites, as well. Can't imagine they'll function during the strike.

I disagree that a non-WGA producer is necessarily "shady". There are quite a few small, independent producers who may not be able to pay writers the big bucks, but who actually might be able to get their movie made.

As someone who has worked as a freelance writer for almost 15 years, I fully understand the concept of starting small and building your resume. You can't expect to get paid big $ as a freelancer until you have a track record. As far as screenwriting goes, I don't see anything wrong with starting small and potentially getting a few options, working with smaller companies to get your work out there.

I agree, Jody. Just because a producer is starting out and doesn't have an agreement with the guilds and unions doesn't mean they aren't trustworthy. As with any business transaction; caveat venditor.

Scot, the websites are not signatories to the Guild. Most readers for these sites are not members so they can keep working. From pitch to sale can take months. Even if one were to submit a pitch through one of the sites on the day the strike was authorized and the strike lasts as long as the one 10 years ago, by the time a "recommend" has gone through the entire process the strike is likely to be over. So they will keep accepting writers money during a strike.

I would bet that the VAST MAJORITY of indie film producers are not WGA signatories, and never will be. The first five indie film production companies that I checked are not in the WGA Signatory Database.

I don't know the procedures regarding what happens when an indie-produced film by a non-WGA signatory company gets picked-up/distributed by a WGA signatory company, though.

Thanks Bill C. and Dan G. good info.

Dan - I one of those small/micro producers that has little/no use for the WGA (and SAG-AFTA either).

Distributors are not required to be signatories to the guilds or unions. A company like Paramount (for example) has both a production arm and a distribution arm. They can buy and distribute an indie-produced film with no repercussions from the guild.

Steven non-WGA members are NOT considered "scabs". It's a totally different thing. Read the article I posted by William Martell.

By connotation, it would occur to me that anyone crossing the line would be a scab, regardless of denotation.

Though a different field (so to speak), consider Damian Miller, a baseball player and catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks when they went to the World Series. From Wiki: "Miller is not a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, as he was a replacement player during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. These players are barred from joining the players' union. His name also does not appear on any official commemorative merchandise from the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series win."

You can cross the line, but your union future and award possibilities suffer as a result.

Phillip: I remember a pitcher for the Reds...can't recall his name now....but he crossed the line and was pretty much ostracized by his teammates when the strike was over and play resumed. And remember it was now-Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a New York District Court judge at the time, who issued the injunction back then that ultimately ended the strike. PLAY BALL! GO CUBSSSSSSS!!!

So glad it's baseball season again. Love editing scripts with a game on. Here's to Justice Sonia and other New York judges doing good work, and to all screenwriters writing and pitching judiciously!

I'm a union member and supporter Steven, I know how it works. Did you read the article I posted by Martell? He explains it way better than I can. A non-WGA producer can hire a non-WGA writer without anyone being considered a "scab". A WGA producer (or tv show) can't and won't hire a non-WGA writer anyway, so there's no picket line to really cross. I believe Martell refers to it as "East and West Berlin". If you are a WGA member, you can't write for anyone. If you're not, you can still write for other non-WGA entities.

Why do you care how complete my profile is and why are you "understandably" curious? I don't pay a lot of attention to a geographic location (or lack thereof) in a persons profile.

From Martell's blog on the subject.

If you are a member of WGA, or any other guild or union, and you declare yourself fi-core, then you can work any job you want to. They might not like it. But they can't penalize you or kick you out.

Patrick: good information.

This whole WGA strike issue is nothing more than a tempest in a tea cup - "an frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Doug: you don't have to care, but it's a lot more than a tempest in a tea cup. You've been around long enough (like me) to know the effects that strikes can have on some people and their families, and especially those who, like many Americans, live month-to-month.

And the effects of a three-month strike will not only takes its toll on writers and others in the entertainment business who live month-to-month, but will trickle down to the businesses that service the entertainment industry. Many of those businesses survive month-to-month, too, and some of the ones that don't have bank credit and who maintain low profit margins will probably close if the strike takes place and lasts longer than a month or two.

May the Entertainment Heavens bless those whose day-to-day existence - from people in the business; to benevolent landlords who carry their tenants during bad times; and to businesses that service the business - will be severely affected by what takes place during this uncertain and potentially horrifying time.

I agree with Jody. Most companies are not WGA signatory. And most companies that are wouldnt work with a first timer anyway. However, if you have a deal going thru at the time of the strike, as I did during the 2008 strike, you can ask for a waiver and most likely it will be granted. The WGA doesnt want anyone missing out on a million dollar deal...well...unless they cant take a piece of it. Technically, WGA writers are not even supposed to write their own shit on spec at home during the strike. But most do because it's the only time they get.

It's evident that a few of you wear the union label proudly but most do not meaning that this issue is of little influence on most. I was a staff writer in '81 - that strike basically cost me my job. The same thing happened in '85 and again in '88 and some times it was hard to pay the rent but I got over it. I may be a slow learner but after three times, I finally got it. The '07 strike meant absolutely nothing to me as I was already ensconced in another (more lucrative) career. Basically, my personal conclusion is that these strikes do more harm than good.

There was a time in US history when labor unions offered significant value but as the pendulum has swung toward the opposite end of the spectrum, I can only conclude that unions have outlived their worth and have become damaging to the labor force in general - they have ceased to be part of the solution and have become a part of the problem (in all walks of life).

Doug:

Great post and I agree.

Doug and Phillip: no disrespect intended, but you guys are way out of the reality loop if you think that the entertainment/technical/trade unions haven't helped their members over the years.

Interesting discussion and I appreciate the different viewpoints thus far.

Bill, I don't think I said that that the unions HAVEN'T help their members (past tense). As a matter of fact, I feel that they were beneficial in the past (I said that) but as I observe 's todays more hi-tech employment reality, I conclude that they've outlived their usefulness. I can't speak for Phillip.

If you were a WGA (or other) union member, would want to work alongside some scab after the strike was over?

Pardon me JD, but I think you've founded your question on some non events as of this date. (1) you've assumed that there will be a strike and (2), you assume it'll be over. Although both are likely, I personally remain totally unbiased as to who I choose to work with - no matter what - both going in and coming out.

As a Brit. - I'm a WGGB member. If my union called a strike, I would expect all of my fellow WGGB members to honor that action. But - unless other unions voted to support my union - then what other writers decide to do comes down to their own code of ethics. If the WGA called a strike - then I personally would not submit work to an American producer until that strike is over.

Well Andrew - it's your nose and your choice to cut it off, or not.

Like I've said previously, I'd hazard to guess the majority here aren't WGA members anyway, so the whole conversation is moot. Nobody cares if a non-WGA writer sells a script to a non-WGA producer. It's only going to matter if an exec who is a WGA member wants your script. And that would be the proverbial snowballs chance in hell of happening anyway. I doubt any WGA member would take that kind of risk with an unproven writer during a strike. So just keep writing and keep networking.

Ain't even a blip on my radar. Business as usual.

Haha Dan! :-D

I'll answer your question, JD.

A "scab" is someone who crosses a picket line and replaces a union worker. It's almost impossible for a writer to be a "scab". Writers rooms on TV series will close down, not be filled with "scab" writers. So I would not be working alongside some scab writer after the strike. If during the strike a signatory producer buys a script from a non-guild writer I would be far more upset with the producer than the writer. The non-guild writer is not violating an agreement, the producer is.

D, and just what agreement would the Producer be violating?

It's called an ethical code of conduct. Most rates that writers are paid have been negotiated and outlined over the years by the writers unions. Without that body of negotiation - backed up by the strike action of successful working writers - all writers would be paid peanuts. The most important but ironically the most financially vulnerable part of any production team is the writer. You are the only party who is in at the very beginning - when all the talk is about seed money. Unless you are financially astute and insist on a contract and a point - it is very easy to end up being paid less than later additions to the crew. That's when you slap the union rates for pay on the desk. And when you get your first movie credit - you join one of the writers unions.

And where can I read this ethical code of conduct and is it limited to writers or is it binding on producers too? During my professional career, I was legally bound by a Uniform Standards of Professional practice and failure to comply could result in my being expelled from the industry and forfeiture of my license. I was a member of my state's regulatory body - and yes, we did expel a few. It's my understanding that writers are not licensed or certified by Federal or State authority - so where's the jurisdictional control?

Most screenwriters are amateur hobby writers and will never have a credit and will never a join a writers union. But - if opportunity knocks - they can visit a writers union site and download a set of figures, which will give them some idea of rates of pay - in relation to the budget of the project. And yes you are right - in the meantime for most writers it's a case of underneath the gaslight by the barracks gate. When you get into the warm - you can pontificate on an ethical code of conduct. Enforceable or not.

http://deadline.com/2014/03/writers-guild-2014-labor-talks-history-strik... Interesting read (if you're interested in the strike).

Doug, if a producer buys a script during a strike they would be violating the agreement they have with the WGA. If a signatory producer chooses to no longer follow the WGA agreement they can. They ONLY need to follow the agreement if they are a signatory to it. That is why I would be more upset by a signatory producer who violates their agreement than by a writer who is not Guild member making a sale.

You are correct in that there is no legally binding "Uniform Standards of Professional practice" between writers and producers. But the Guild contract is legally binding when both parties agree to follow it.

There's a new episode of the WGA West's podcast 3rd & Fairfax just out that is a roundtable with the WGA negotiators... makes for interesting listening.

Most times a strike is a good thing. Workers have gotten higher wages and safer work environments because of strikes.