Scribe tribe votes in chief

Verrone's slate sweeps slots

By DAVE MCNARY

Hollywood writers, strongly endorsing a strategy of organizing non-union work, have elected Patric Verrone over Ted Elliott for the presidency of the Writers Guild of America West.

The results clearly give Verrone's slate a mandate to follow through on the efforts by the WGA West to organize animation, cable and the reality TV sector. Reality shows have lowered the Guild's membership numbers by several hundred slots in recent years.

Verrone, an animation writer who's served two terms as the WGA West's secretary-treasurer, captured 69% of ballots cast with 1,301 votes and led his Writers United slate to a sweep of all 10 slots.

"First, we will move dramatically to expand the guild's organizing and research staff," he said Tuesday. "Second, we will institute a membership communication system so that every Guild member will be one step away from a board member at all times. Third, we will open lines of direct dialogue with the new leadership of the Writers Guild East and with all our other sister entertainment guilds."

Verrone told Daily Variety his slate's victory had been due in part to the effectiveness of a campaign communications structure designed to contact members and promised he'd use the same outreach methods as president.

The WGA West has obtained nearly 1,000 signatures from reality TV staffers who have asked to be repped by the union. It's also assisted in the filing of two recent lawsuits on behalf of reality show editors and segment producers against networks and producers alleging extensive violations of state wage and overtime laws.

Elliott, head of the Common Sense slate, had emphasized a long-term strategy to prepare for the 2007 contract negotiations in order to achieve better results than last year's negotiations produced. And his supporters have warned that Verrone's focus on organizing is ill-suited for a creative guild and may result in cutting core WGA West services.

"The members don't seem to understand that this strategy won't work because we are not an industrial union," said Elliott supporter Elizabeth Cosin. "The results are depressing."

Verrone's running mates David N. Weiss and Elias Davis won over Carl Gottlieb and Irma Kalish, respectively, for VP and secretary-treasurer.

All eight Writers United board candidates -- Robert King, Peter Lefcourt, Joan Meyerson, Dan Wilcox, Howard Rodman, Scott Frank, Phil Alden Robinson and Tom Schulman -- also won. Davis, King, Lefcourt and Weiss are current board members; the rest of Weiss' one-year term will be filled by Melissa Rosenberg, who finished with the highest vote total of the nine other candidates.

The WGA West's campaign to organize reality TV has irked the Producers Guild of America and the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. IATSE president Tom Short announced last week that his union will seek to gain jurisdiction beyond features over some screenwriters at upcoming negotiations with studios and networks.

Verrone said Tuesday that he's skeptical that IATSE can organize screenwriters, asserting that animation feature writers would prefer to be repped by the WGA. "I don't think Short will find much success in organizing writers when there are no residuals or credit arbitration in the IATSE animation contract," he added.

Verrone also said he believes the WGA West can make good on its pledge to distribute $8 million this year to its members in funds from foreign levies and noted that part of his campaign for secretary-treasurer was to disperse those funds.

The WGA West -- which is facing a suit over the foreign funds -- has $19 million in foreign levies in its accounts plus another $4 million that's undeliverable.

Daniel Petrie Jr., who won a special election last year as president, had endorsed Elliott while former presidents John Wells, Victoria Riskin, Melville Shavelson, Frank Pierson and David Rintels supported Verrone.

The WGA West reps about 8,000 writers. It's been in a contentious financial dispute this year with the WGA East, which reps 4,000 writers.