SOCIALIST PARTY USA STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE SCREENWRITERS STRIKE

Labor Commission of the SP-USA

When the irreverent early 20th century comedian W.C. Fields was once caught reading the bible he explained that he was “looking for some loopholes.” On Monday November 5th, 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) took a bold strike action to sew up some of the loopholes which have allowed the entertainment industry to make exorbitant profits from their labor. The Socialist Party USA (SP-USA) stands with the WGA and calls upon the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to concede to the WGA’s demands for a just contract.

Unlike the often inebriated actor Fields, the AMPTP has found many profitable loopholes. While screenwriters are paid industry rates for work aired in traditional media venues such as television and movies, they receive only a small fraction of the profits generated in the “new” media outlets of DVD sales and internet based programming. Writers currently receive only 5 cents per unit for the sale of a DVD. For entertainment delivered via internet streaming video WGA members receive only 1.2% of gross revenue. There is also currently no language in the contract regarding the producer’s right to insert product placements into WGA member created scripts.read more »