Impasse in writers' strike poses need for new political struggle

On December 7, the AMPTP broke off talks with the WGA after insisting that the union pull six demands from the bargaining table. This was a calculated maneuver by the studios, which are determined to fundamentally change labor relations in Hollywood by denying writers, as well as actors and directors, any portion of the billions of dollars that they will be making over the course of the coming decades through the distribution of films and television over the Internet.

The AMPTP is intent upon clawing back concessions it made to writers previously, when it agreed to make minimal “residual” payments for the re-airing of films and television programs on networks and through the sale of DVDs and home video. Now that a new form of distribution—the Internet—is up for negotiation, the studios do not want to make the “mistake” of granting residuals to writers that they made in the past in other mediums.