WGA, Saying “Era Of Divide & Conquer Is Over,” Accuses AMPTP Of “Gaslighting” Union Members & Telling A “Lie” About The Breakdown Of Contract Talks

deadline.com:

The Writers Guild told its members today that the AMPTP’s “divide and conquer” strategy isn’t working, and that if the companies think they can pit one guild against the other, make a deal with the Directors Guild and force the WGA to accept it and end its strike – as was the case with the WGA’s last strike – they are mistaken.

The WGA also accused the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers of “gas-lighting” union members and telling a “lie” about the breakdown of their contract negotiations on May 1, launching the strike that is now a month old.

During the last writers’ strike back in 2008, the DGA made a deal with the AMPTP on the 73rd day of the strike. The main issue was residuals from what is now known as streaming.

A few weeks later, the WGA agreed to similar terms, ending its 100-day walkout. This time around, the DGA began negotiations for its own contract nine-days into the WGA strike, but the WGA says the companies’ “divide and conquer strategy won’t work this time. “The AMPTP was formed in the 1980s when the industry’s major employers decided they were tired of the decades of gains made by unions when engaging in their own divide and conquer strategy – choosing an employer (or employer group) to get a good deal that the rest of the industry studios had to follow,” the WGA Negotiating Committee said in a communique to members today.“The AMPTP strategy of corporate unity has been wildly successful for the companies.