The Oncoming WGA Strike (?) ...

As mentioned here previously, the WGA (east and west) is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the AMPTP. Those talks appear to be going pretty much nowhere.

The WGA is now in the process of conducting a strike authorization vote. It's been suggested that a "Yes" vote will get the Writers Guild more leverage, and maybe it will. It's also been suggested that the strike could happen as soon as the WGA contract expries on October 31st, or at some point thereafter.

However, Ted Elliot over at The Artful Writer has a different take:

...if the Board and Council have come to the membership for a strike authorization vote, it means that the Negotiation Committee has recommended “… the cessations of negotiations and the imposition of a restraining order in support of its demands.”

So, provided the Guilds are operating according to the process for issuing restraining orders set forth in the constitutions as required by federal law, the Negotiating Committee has recommeded that we stop negotiating and go out on strike...

...[C]onstitutionally speaking (Article IX.A.1.C.1), if the Negotiation Committee has recommended ending negotations and calling a strike, and the Boards (meaning the West Board and East Council) has adopted the recommendation, “the Boards shall, after approval by the memberships in the manner hereafter provided, issue orders directing all members of their repsective Guilds to cease rendering services to and to refrain from contracting for the sale or licensing of their literary material or dramatic material to any of the persons, firms or corporations named in such orders.”

That part that says “… the Boards shall … issue orders” sure seems like the constitution gives the membership the final say on whether or not we’re going out on strike or not, and not the Boards. So if the majority of each memership (50% plus one) says go, come the second after midnight on November 1st, it’s a go...

Now. I've got no idea if a WGA strike commences on November 1st, or December 31st, or July 1st of 2008 after the Screen Actors Guild walks out.

But across the way at The Artful Writer, there's talk about the WGA hitting the bricks sooner rather than later. And any board artist, revisionist, designer or director who's working on The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, or American Dad should be concerned.

Because all of those prime time half-hours are written by WGA members. Who might not be turning out any scripts after November 1st.

And it might be a looong strike.

Update: Variety, Hollywood Today and the L.A. Times have stories about the sputtering contract talks here, here and here.

None are particularly upbeat...