WGA set to fight over reality TV, animation

Guild also highlights DVD residuals, health care

By DAVE MCNARY

In one of its last pre-negotiation messages to its 8,000 members, the Writers Guild of America West has signaled that a serious fight is shaping up over writing for reality TV and animation.

The guild, which has almost no coverage over reality and limited coverage over animation, asserted in its newsletter that those issues will be key bargaining points in upcoming contract talks along with improving DVD residuals and health care contributions from producers. No date has been set for talks to replace the current contract, which expires May 2.

WGA West secretary-treasurer Patric Verrone contended in the message that the mega-congloms have managed to avoid WGA coverage by remaining non-signatory to the guild minimum basic agreement. As such, the corporate parents can use subsidiary companies to designate certain productions union and others non-union, he added.

"At the bargaining table, demands will be made to level the playing field legally," Verrone said. "We must also find ways to reach up, down and sideways on the corporate ladder so the shell game can be beaten. The parent companies themselves must agree to refrain from intimidation tactics and allow writers and the WGA free access to each other."

Non-signatory TV series cited include "Survivor," "The Simple Life," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "A&E Biography"; "Finding Nemo" and "The Lion King" are listed as non-signatory films.

Limited success

The guild launched a major push to organize reality shows last year, signing 1,000 writers as potential members, but were able to achieve jurisdiction only over HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Producers haven't flocked to give the WGA jurisdiction, asserting the shows are unscripted or on such tight budgets that they can't afford to pay WGA rates.

"It's not as if the work is 'unscripted,' " Verrone asserted. "The companies can say that premises, story structures and even narratives are prepared by 'segment producers' or 'researchers' or 'consultants,' but we've seen the scripts. They're writers."

The guild campaign centers on the premise that working non-union represents a major financial hit to scribes since there are no residuals and no health insurance contributions.

"An hour of air time devoted to a network primetime reality show or a cable documentary show on sharks is an hour of programming that did not pay into your pension and health fund or pay a residual," Verrone said. "An animated or independent film that screens at the multiplex and ultimately fills the videostore shelf is there instead of a WGA film that would have contributed to our benefit plans and paid a DVD royalty."