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WGA members overwhelmingly voted (95.3% to 4.7%) to approve the unilateral imposition of a new code of conduct for agencies, just six days before the expiry of the existing franchise agreement between guild and the Association of Talent Agents. The final vote of the combined WGA East and West members was 7882 in favor of 392 opposites.
Unilateral voting, although not unexpected, should strengthen the WGA's bargaining position by letting agencies know that writers are not bluffing – that they are really ready to leave their agents on the same day. The ATA says that this would create a "chaos" in the industry. The WGA calls this a "difficult" "necessary realignment" of a "corrupt" business model that has and will continue to drive down the excessive wage – negotiated by agents – of thousands of writers, producers and viewers.
The WGA and ATA are expected to return to the bargaining table later this week, although no date has been set. The deadline for an agreement is April 6th. After that, if no agreement is reached and the talks are not prolonged, the guild could order its members to move away from any agent who refuses to sign his new code.
The latest news is that nearly 800 writers – including many of the best TV presenters – have committed to do so if a new franchise agreement is not reached. They could still keep their same agents to manage jobs, but not for writers' contracts. Screenwriters-directors should have two agents in different agencies to get a job, which only authorized talent agents are allowed to do.
At the same time, the ATA said its members were also united – more than 100 of them, including all the big agencies that make almost all packaging, pledged not to sign the WGA code . So the confrontation
The impact of the writers' walkout on the upcoming television recruitment season would immediately be felt as thousands of writers look for jobs and agents simultaneously. However, television production will not be a problem, as screenwriters will remain in the programs already in production and those having signed agreements. But their agents will not be allowed to represent them or renegotiate them if they do not sign the code.
However, the development of television would be quickly disrupted by the fact that the four big agencies are deeply involved in the development of the emissions they condition – and that they pack the vast majority of them. The studio and network development divisions should take a long time to get the WGA project to reinvent the brokerage.
Independent films could also discover that financing and distribution are more difficult to find, which the big agencies gather in their offers. According to the ATA, a downturn in this sector would also hurt actors, directors and team members.
In the meantime, the guild took the unprecedented step of replacing the personal administrators and lawyers of its members to replace the chief agents they would no longer have if the code were applied. Many writers do not even have an agent, a director, or a lawyer, and like many of them, they will find writing work by themselves, as many people already say.
To help put the editors in touch with the hirers, if necessary, the guild also created a new electronic job posting board, called the WGA workforce submission system, which has already recruited hundreds of producers and executive producers who are committed to reviewing the submissions of their fellow writers. for staffing in television programs.
The unbalanced vote on the new code was expected as the WGA Bargaining Committee, the WGA West Board of Directors and the WGA East Board voted unanimously to recommend approval. The ballot stated: "Do you authorize the board of directors and the board to implement a code of conduct of the agency, if it is appropriate to do so, at the expiry of the basic agreement? artist managers effective April 6, 2019?
The two key issues, which have not changed at the bargaining table, remain the WGA's requirements: agencies must stop charging for packaging fees and sever their links with affiliated production entities. . "Fiduciary obligations to their clients.
The packaging has existed for decades and is dominated by the four major talent agencies – WME, CAA, UTA and ICM Partners. According to the guild, 87% of all programmed television shows were prepared during the 2016-7 television season, and 79% of these shows are presented by WME and CAA. The packaging involves agencies bringing together the creative elements of a show, for which they receive a package fee in return for not charging 10% commissions to their clients.
The negotiations have been the most acrimonious for decades – perhaps even more than in the failed negotiations that led to the WGA strike in 2007-08. At least at that time, the guild did not accuse studios and networks of committing crimes.
The WGA accused the four big agencies of running a vertically integrated "cartel" that blocked the Hollywood talent market and threatened to sue the agencies, calling their packaging costs "illegal bribes".
Chris Keyser, co-chair of the guild's bargaining committee, said, "Agency operations are now dominated by four agencies – an oligopoly. They hold an overwhelming percentage of the market share, and their control over packaging and the assessment of packaging costs make it a question to which we must respond now. "
Unlike packaging, agency affiliations with related financial / production entities – such as WME with Endeavor Content, CAA with Wiip and UTA with Civic Center Media – are a relatively new phenomenon, although the WGA compares them to the stranglehold of mega-agency. MCA and Universal had talent before the Department of Justice forced them to separate in 1962 as part of an antitrust action.
The guild has made public dozens of horrendous stories of anonymous members about their agents, described in various ways as selfish, greedy, disloyal, lazy, conflicting and accomplice liars. But nowhere has the guild addressed the real reason why so many of its members – including many of Hollywood's greatest writers, directors, actors, and producers – are represented by the big agencies – their influence.
Their influence in getting studio heads and superstars to answer their calls; make a deal on a towel at the Polo Lounge; connect investors to vanity projects and blockbuster customers. Their influence to make movies and TV shows. The latest algorithm does not quantify such influence, but if the agents were to go on strike, negotiations of a scale comparable to that of Hollywood would be so halted. Influence is the reason why many A-listers have A-list agents. That's why so many business meetings start with the question, "Who is your agent?"
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