On December 13th, 2007, the WGA filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the AMPTP is engaging in unfair labor practices. This is probably going to be one of the shortest editorials I've ever written for this site.

The substance of the charge is that the AMPTP is refusing to negotiate in good faith. Filing with the labor board is a perfectly legal move, and the WGA has considerable evidence on their side that the AMPTP is being unreasonable and irrational. Currently, the AMPTP is insisting that the WGA take a number of demands off the table before they'll even return to negotiations, which defeats the purpose of "negotiations." Moreover, much of what the WGA wants is quite rational and fair. (It's been recently observed that what it would cost CBS to meet all of the WGA's demands for all writers working on CBS properties would be substantially less than their CEO Les Moonves's yearly compensation package, by several times over.) [link]

The AMPTP's response to this legal charge was to quote a lawyer's adage. They said on their Web site, amptp.org, "When the facts are on your side, argue the facts.
When the law is on your side, argue the law. And when you don't have either the law or the facts on your side, you pound the table. The WGA has now been reduced to pounding the table, and this baseless, desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA's negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers."

I would observe that the law is on the WGA's side. So are the facts. The WGA has demands that by any stretch of the imagination are reasonable even in their entirety. I would further observe that the AMPTP is doing the table pounding, and the only reason that the WGA has made no grounds is that the AMPTP is not negotiating in good faith -- which is, essentially, the basis of their complaint to the Labor Board.

There's another old adage the AMPTP might want to remember during negotiations. It starts, "Those who live in glass houses ..."

Nikki Finke's Blog
United Hollywood Blog
Excellent article explaining the issues behind the strike by WGA member Robert J. Elisberg