There are so many "internal" emails and memos being issued from both the WGA and AMPTP in recent days that it's hard to keep pace with them all. But I'll try. Here's a new one from WGA board member Tom Schulman that just went out to writers:
The Playbook of the AMPTP
Fellow Members,A few years ago, I was on the WGA Negotiating Committee. As negotiations with the AMPTP were drawing to a close, I went to a dinner party where I happened to be seated next to a gentleman who until recently had been for decades the chief negotiator for the Companies in another segment of the entertainment industry. He was a wiry guy, and he had a sense of humor. When I asked him if he was the Nick Counter of that particular part of the industry, he smiled and said wryly that he thought he was better than Nick but, yes, that was a fair comparison. He said he knew Nick and admired him. For an hour and a half, sprinkled in with the small talk, he told me about his negotiating strategy. After the party, I went to my car and jotted down as much of it as I could remember. I thought it might be useful to share it with you now:
Strategy for Hardball Negotiations:
Piss off the leaders and spokespersons for the other side. A leader who loses his temper loses something in negotiations. Why?
1) Anger clouds judgment.
2) It’s human nature to want to be liked, even in a tough-as-nails negotiator. A person who loses his temper is embarrassed, usually comes and apologizes, and always gives something away to get back into the good graces of the other side.
The end game is the money, but hardball negotiations aren't about money, until the end. The real game is dividing and conquering.Tactics:
* Lower the expectations of the other side, divide and conquer.
* Raise and lower the expectations of the other side, divide and conquer.
* Do everything possible to destroy the credibility of the other side’s leadership, divide and conquer.
* Use confidants and back channels to go over the heads of the stronger leaders to the softer targets. Divide and conquer.
* When you figure out the other side’s bottom line, offer a fraction. It’s surprising how many times that stands.Sound familiar? If you examine the recent "leaks," comments, and press releases from the other side, you'll realize this is exactly the strategy the Companies are employing against us today. And why not? It's worked for them for the last 20 years! They are putting us on an emotional roller coaster by raising and lowering our expectations, attacking our leaders, trying to pit the town against us, refusing to move on the issues that matter to us, bragging about their generosity when the opposite is true, fear mongering and claiming we're going to ruin this industry – hoping we'll splinter, lose faith in and attack each other, negotiate against ourselves, and cave.
As events unfold in the next several days and weeks, we should have no doubt about what the Companies are really up to and what to expect from them. But this time, in every way possible, we must let them know we're on to them and their strategy won't work. We understand their game, our solidarity and resolve are greater than ever, and we're going to stay strong – and reasonable – until we get a fair deal.
Let's return to the picket lines every day with a powerful show of force. As Patric says, we're all in this together.
Tom Schulman
WGAW Board of Directors
When will the studios and networks start firing their programming and development executives and staffs?
AMPTP “insiders” keep saying the plan is to let the strike continue into 2009.
Is it fiscally responsible to pay entire departments that will be idle for all that time?
Comment by frm — December 3, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
Today at CBS Radford, Carl Gottlieb spoke to the picketing writers, and said something really interesting that I don’t think has been mentioned anywhere before. That is, the 4 day break that started on Thursday and will end tomorrow was initially called by the AMPTP in order to get the second half of their proposals ready.
It’s interesting that they called for the four day break, and immediately told the press the WGA asked for negotiations to halt for four days. Again, I hadn’t heard that anywhere so I thought I’d post it.
Comment by The Green Gottlieb — December 3, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
AMPTP= arrogant, bullying school children.
Comment by Anonymous — December 3, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
Oh yeah, this sort of e-mail is productive.
Comment by longtime WGA — December 3, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
Is this “playbook” is intriguing or arbitrary? At least, there’s nothing specific enough about its content to affect change or warrant a WGA revamp of negotiating protocol. Alas, these negotiating tactics presented in this “playbook” border on the general, and don’t amount to anything more than the old adage: “Know thy enemy.”
This playbook’s analogous to an NFL coach telling his players before the Superbowl Kickoff that “they’re going to try and beat us, men. They’re going to try and win! We must remain strong!!!”
I’m surprised by this letter, as it comes across as a little childish, i.e., “Hey everybody — they’re out to get us. We’re in this together.”
Forgive me for sounding glib, as I’m on the WGA’s side. But ain’t that a lil’ obvious?
For God’s sake, it’s a negotiation. Negotiate. Or perhaps the playbook is a plant of sorts. And is acting in accordance with something like this; from the good ol’ ART OF WAR:
“Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.”
However, this one’s also very applicable:
“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”
Comment by an observer — December 3, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
Ego.
Studios got it, writers don’t.
If there’s any truth to this memo, it shouldn’t surprise anyone, and if there isn’t, certainly it shouldn’t take a memo to figure out this is the strategy being employed.
Comment by Max Bell — December 3, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Well, it looks like CBS is calling the season a washout-they offically announced Big Brother 9 will start airing in February…
Comment by DW — December 3, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
Um, has anyone at the WGA ever bought a car?
This is news?
What, do they like go into the nearest BH Mercedes dealership and are like, “oh that’s the sticker price? Ok! Here’s my money!”
This is negotiating 101. For anyone who’s ever done anything quote “in the real world,” this is how it goes.
The key to negotating is simple: it’s an exchange of values. You have to figure out what the other side wants and, in one way or another, give them what they need… while you get what you want. What does the AMPTP need? What, ultimately, is their goal?
If this is just a numbers game, well, meet in the middle and put in to renegotiate the contract every 18 months.
If this is a PR game — the AMPTP needs to bow at gracefully at this point because they’ve lost that battle. Maybe find a way for them to save face a little. (or not).
If this is a power game, how long can the guild strike? Then it’s going to get real ugly and no one’s going to win.
Everything is so divisive these days, everything is a battle. It’s too bad it had to come to this point. Hoping for a resolution but not feeling much love (or wisdom).
Where are the heavy hitters to bring this thing to a close?
Comment by Hoping for a Resolution — December 3, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
Didn’t the WGA mention the 4-day break in their press release on Thursday as a reason to study the proposals? If it was just the AMPTM, I’d say Gottleib might be right, but I’m pretty sure the WGA was the driving force behind this.
And frm, where the hell did you hear that? What “insiders”?
Comment by Jack Burton — December 3, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
Comment by Robinowitz — December 3, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
So a labor lawyer had a little too much to drink and ran his mouth–this is not earth-shattering news. And you can get what he said out of The Art of War. Sheesh.
Comment by fritz — December 3, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
it’s good to post these bad faith tactics so the public gets a glimpse into what WGA is dealing with
it’s obvious AMPTP has been employing these age-old tactics, though not everyone who loses their temper feels apologetic (esp. if justified)
saying strike will last until 2009 is just another obvious scare tactic to diminish morale and attempt divisiveness with BTL
those who are smug and arrogant are always their own undoing, i.e. amptp
these CEO’s are just too old and too out of touch with today’s rapidly changing technology and business paradigms - they are taking down their own companies with these old school tactics, it just isn’t immediately visible.
content delivery is shifting and these conglomerates can choose to be a part of the future, or miss the boat. in the coming digital age, these conglomerates will be obsolete - artists won’t need them for distribution, and financing will be secured elsewhere as it mostly already is in the feature world.
look at how desperate NBC is already
corporate news media is increasingly being exposed as the fraud it is - delivering self-serving propaganda to the public in the guise of being “news.”
Comment by AS — December 3, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
“Ego.
Studios got it, writers don’t.”
I don’t know which is funnier Max Bell. The fact that you made this statement or the possibility that you really believe it. Clearly, you’ve never sat in a writers room on a tv show. Writers have bigger (and more fragile) egos than the studio heads. That’s why everyone has to keep stroking their egos by telling them that the script was “great, funny, blah-blah” when everyone knows it’s crap.
Writers and Producers/Studio Execs have egos. The difference is, the studio execs acknowledge and EMBRACE their egos and writers deny it by hiding behind bullcrap “creativity” mantra that gives them a sense of entitlement that many of them DON’T deserve.
Comment by ChuckT — December 3, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
The WGA should print these notes on cards and hand them out to every member. There should be placards with these tactics at every strike picketline. And get this onto the web virally with actors who matter to the public. We should call the media blitz the “Shame on You” scenario.
Comment by anotherWGAmember — December 3, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
Man, I hope someone isn’t writing down all the half-joking things I say about *my* job when I get a little tipsy at a dinner party.
Comment by Mike — December 3, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
The Guild playbook is wave sticks for 6 months. Take crappy deal.
Comment by what's the best deal you can make this week — December 3, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Frm’s post is my favorite amptp shill post yet! He/she is so clever, subtly sneaking in how the amptp is going to let the strike go into 2009. Beautiful! Hey Moonves, that’s a great idea! Let us stay out till 2009, that way you’ll lose the ‘07 season, ‘08, ‘09, and ‘10!!! But hey, you’ve got a bus shelter somewhere in San Bernardino that’s raking in twice what you’ll lose from TV, right? Also, you’d better watch your “forward looking statements,” Les, because some writer/lawyers are already trying to get the SEC riled up about you and the comments you made to the public before the strike. The SEC might not do anything under Presidnent Bush and Christopher Cox, but if you let it roll into 2009, then here come the Hillaryites and you could be the next Jeffrey Skilling.
Comment by StrikeTillCBSisBankrupt — December 3, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
Meet the New Economic Partnership, same as the Old Economic Partnership. The only difference is that the new one has adjusted the writers’ reality and made us realize we’re in for a long one. And what was the membership’s response to this? Despair? Nope, the biggest turnout on the picket line since the whole strike began. I couldn’t believe how many people were out there on the line today. Renews my faith in my fellow members. Thanks, everyone!
Comment by Solidarity Sol — December 3, 2007 @ 5:00 pm
Any truth to the rumor that Google is close to a deal with the WGA to finance network-quality programming for the Internet, thus eliminating the middleman? Now that’s a New Economic Partnership I could support!
Comment by Excited Writer — December 3, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
At least they have a play book, what does the WGA have?
Comment by nice — December 3, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
To “An Observer”: The playbook email might sound childish to you, but as a relatively new member of the Guild (since 2004) I found it pretty revealing. See, this is my first experience with a WGA/AMPTP negotiation, and I guess I naively assumed that with so much money on the line and so many jobs at stake, neither side would waste time on psychological warfare and mind games. I now stand corrected. Apparently all of that is par for the course.
So in an odd way, it gives me some comfort to know that the AMPTP is essentially following a script. A writer I was picketing with today made a great comparison: When you have a computer problem and you call the tech support line, often you are connected to a help desk in India somewhere. And no matter what your specific problem is, the person on the other end has a script that they have to read from, complete with pre-determined responses to your questions. Anyone who has gone through this knows what I mean. The point is, if you stay on the line long enough, you’ll eventually get your problem addressed. There’s no reason to get mad at the Indian tech support guy for wasting your time…he’s just following the script he’s supposed to follow.
So let the AMPTP run through their list of tactics and shenanigans, and when they’re finally ready to start negotiating seriously, we’ll be waiting.
Comment by Abdul Williams — December 3, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
To learn more about these tactics, just Google “Union Busting.” There are entire companies dedicated to telling ‘em how to do it — the playbook is real. The point is not so much that we can’t recognize tactics when we see them. It’s that the objective of the tactics is to destroy not only an individual strike, but also to bust a union. So check it out.
Comment by Another Hyphenate — December 3, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
New to the WGA in 2004:
You are shockingly naive. What part of Hollywood are you in that you don’t experience what you call “mind games” and “psychological warfare?” That IS Hollywood in a way. But negotiating is part of life, it’s business and not always personal.
Doesn’t the WGA have any idea what the AMPTP wants (and needs)? I don’t believe their goal is “union busting” but I could be wrong. In order to successfully negotiate, you need to know what the other sides’ goal is.
Btw: AMPTP= India Tech help desk? Worst.Analogy.Ever.
Comment by Hoping for a Resolution — December 3, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
Hoping for a Resolution,
What part of the business am I in? I’m a writer, a working writer, and one who appreciates dealing with execs who are straight forward and know what they want. Maybe pussyfooting and mind games are how you do business, but I prefer to meet things head on. And yes, I naively assumed that the AMPTP wouldn’t waste time with juvenile tactics while so much is at stake.
You don’t like my anaolgy? Fine. Why don’t you come and discuss this with me face to face? I picket at Sony during the 9-12 shift, on the Culver Gate. I’m typically there everyday. And you’ll notice, I didn’t choose to use an alias. My name is Abdul Williams. I’m not hiding, and I’m not some pussy writer who is easily initimidated. You want to hurl insults through cyberspace? Or would you rather discuss this like adults, without the childish sniping?
Please come to see me and explain to me how “shockingly naive” I am. I’ll be waiting.
Comment by Abdul Williams — December 4, 2007 @ 6:52 am
Hoping For Resolution -
While you attack someone else’s naivity, what union negotiating experience do you have? What committee are you on?
If you’re really hoping for a resolution, your petty attacks are undermining your cause.
Comment by girl scribe still walking — December 4, 2007 @ 8:21 am
robinowitz is on the money: watch for the class action lawsuit by media buyer that’s brewing behind the scenes.
Comment by dave — December 4, 2007 @ 8:44 am
“StrikeTillCBSisBankrupt”
Great username, but CBS will not allow the strike to continue until 2009, at least not the shareholders. Besides, I am from North Dakota and North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan just can’t wait to drag the likes of Les Moonves, Jeff Zucker, and others to congressional hearings. This will happen as soon as next week.
Comment by Jessy S. — December 4, 2007 @ 9:50 am
Like NONE of the guilds past/present negotiators think this strategy is NEW?! New Flash:
This strategy is NOT A MYSTERY!
Even little kids employ these tactics to perpetually annoy their parents and teachers if they want something bad enough!
If you don’t have any REAL leverage-generally-you don’t win.
Comment by devin — December 10, 2007 @ 12:21 pm