What Happened at the Big Meeting?

The negotiating committee and the board came out to a full house at the Shrine Auditorium. They were met with a standing ovation. Standing ovations continued through the meeting as Verrone congratulated the membership on its efforts over the last three plus months. Bowman discussed what the nature of negotiations were like on the inside, where we started, and what we've gained. David Young went through the deal point by point. Then, the floor was opened for Q&A.

Verrone announced at the top of the meeting that we would have a 48 hour membership vote on whether or not to lift the strike. Members will be notified tomorrow or Monday by email or phone about the strike lift vote. Then, likely on Tuesday (details are still being worked out) there will be a time and place that the general assembly can meet and cast their ballots. Members will also be able to vote by faxing a proxy ballot to the guild. The votes will be counted, and if it passes - we go back to work - tentatively on Wednesday. We then begin the 10 day ratification vote on the contract. (I assume this will happen whether or not members vote to lift the strike, however it may be a cross-that-bridge scenario.)

During the Q&A period, members offered many congratulations to the Negotiating Committee for their tireless work. There were also concerns raised about the 17 and 24 day windows of free content reuse on the internet, the lack of larger gains for cable syndication, and other legal language questions. However, overwhelmingly the crowd was pleased with the trailblazing the NegCom had accomplished in New Media: distributor's gross, separated rights, and percentage-based residuals.

Overall, the atmosphere was very upbeat, more so than many had anticipated. At times it felt like a victory rally. In fact, as of 10:30pm, there was only one openly hostile question during the Q&A session. It focused on the 17-day window for ad-supported streaming. Interestingly, the man who posed the question (pointedly saying, "You guys blinked.") drew some applause at first, but then elicited groans as his anger rose and he refused to relinquish the microphone. Many members have grave concerns about the 17-day window, but not to the same extent as that gentleman, who stormed from the room amid uncomfortable chuckling. That was the only moment of tension in what was, on the whole, a very inspirational evening.

If you're a guild member expect a call or email in the coming days to notify you of the vote. If you don't think the guild has your current phone number or email address give them a call with your updated information.