The Writers Guild of America resumed talks with the studios, networks and streamers Wednesday after a disappointing previous meeting. The sticking points continue to be wages, residuals from streaming content, and the use of AI. Meanwhile, the SAG-AFTRA strike has no talks scheduled.
Major Democratic lawmakers in California, including those running for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, have joined the picket lines. But until recently, Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have refused to take sides or get publicly involved in brokering a deal. Both have hinted at behind-the-scenes conversations, but questions remain regarding how much power they have to end the strikes.
Ted Johnson, political editor at Deadline, explains that California offers hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives to studios and producers. This gives Newsom some financial leverage to negotiate.
The studios recently pleaded with California to further increase tax credits because the infrastructure and talent are mostly here, Johnson points out. “Even with the development of film production all over the country, Southern California is still the base of operations.”
Newsom has other direct connections to the industry. He chooses who sits on the California Film Commission and he appointed Disney CEO Bob Iger to lead a COVID task force at the start of the pandemic. Netflix founder Reed Hastings contributed $3 million to Newsom’s campaign fund during the recall effort.
“He has quite a lot of ties to the entertainment industry, quite a lot of ties to people on the studio side. … The campaign contributions — that has been a factor for Democrats throughout the strike. … Their base of support is on both sides of this labor dispute,” Johnson says.
He continues, “For Gavin Newsom … perhaps it's at the back of his mind that maybe it's not a wise thing to go out on the picket lines, especially if there might come a point when he'll be called to help … mediate and end this dispute. Early on, when the Writers Guild did go out on strike, he said he would get involved if he was invited. And it seems like maybe something's happening on that point, based on what he told CNN, that he actually has been talking to both sides.”
Newsom was not directly involved in today’s talks.
Mayor Karen Bass doesn’t have significant financial incentives to offer the studios like Newsom does.
At the national level, President Joe Biden is sympathetic to the actors and has said writers deserve a “fair deal.” However, he hasn’t gotten more involved and has steered clear of fundraising in Southern California. Sources have told Johnson that Biden doesn’t want to get deeply mired — or become a story — in the strikes.
Meanwhile, first lady Jill Biden will be fundraising this Saturday at the Beverly Hills home of philanthropist Daphna Ziman. “This is going to be a much lower profile event than it would be if the president was here, which typically generates all sorts of protests and demonstrations, even when there is no labor dispute going on.”
So among the major players, who would be best positioned to serve as mediator? Johnson says it’s the governor. “Newsom has these tax credits behind him — [it] is probably a factor in perhaps giving him some gravitas to come in and say, ‘You settle this, or we're going to have to take another look at these tax credits.’”
Many KCRW staff are members of SAG-AFTRA, though we are under a separate contract from the agreement at issue between actors and studios.