Thread by @jonrog1

1/ So you may have noticed the WGA is negotiating its agreement with the agencies who represent us. We're trying to get them to agree to a Code of Conduct addressing conflicts of interest along with a few other less flashy but important items. #IStandWithTheWGA

2/ This is not a situation we want to be in, of course. But unfortunately, we've been brought here not by ambition or hubris but specifically in response to bad actions, some of which are detailed here. wga.org/members/member…

3/ The situation is egregious enough that over 700 writers have signed a letter of support for this negotiation, including showrunners such as Shonda Rhimes, Joss Whedon, David Simon, David Shore, Tina Fey ... wga.org/members/member…

4/ Here's the thing - that's a whole lot of high level writers in support (and myself, but I don't swing that much weight) BUT this conflict is not about showrunners fighting for their back end. It is ABOUT the mid-level writer.

5/ Read those stories. Many of those stories are about mid-level writers getting squeezed at the expense of the package. About some agents -- not all, but some -- putting the agency's corporate interest above their clients.

6/ Which is only natural as the agencies are now big enough -- thanks to *our* work, and the work of actors and directors -- to attract private equity money, And so now they have to play by those predatory rules. Detailed here: wga.org/news-events/ne…

7/ Which leads me to this -- I know you like your agent. I like my agent. He's done many wonderful things for me. Maybe you have a genuine, emotional bond of trust with your agent.

But your agent works for a company. And that company is the issue.

8/ This sucks, I know it sucks. I feel both your work anxiety and your discomfort with the stress this puts on your personal relationship. But those agencies are not going to change their ways -- even *adjust* them -- unless we go hard to the paint.

9/ Because they will not give an inch unless we do. It's in their own best interest. One could argue they have a fiduciary responsibility to do so, to maintain the status quo that attracted their investors.

10/ It's tough, but the evolution of the media landscape and the resultant corporate landscape means we need to realize information workers are now just like everybody else: if we do not fight, we won't keep the status quo. *We will lose ground, inch by inch, every year.*

11/ You are not fighting your agent who listened to you cry in your car and promised you they'd find you your next gig. We are trying to make sure the companies that employ them play by the rules. It's tough we're in the middle.

12/ And hopefully, just as many of you are understandably asking your fellow writers at meetings and in DM's, "Should we be doing this?", your agents are asking their bosses and their partners THE SAME THING.

13/ I truly believe the showrunner's letter and a strong vote YES to stand with the WGA on the agreement helps the agents who care, because it gives them fuel to go to their agencies and argue for a negotiated settlement. A strong front emboldens allies.

14/ 22 years ago, on a very bad day, my first showrunner growled at me "It's 'show BUSINESS' not 'show FRIENDS'". It's an old trope, but it's diamond-true. And every time I forget it, this town smacks me in the back of the head as a reward for my carelessness.

15/ This is not the Apocalypse. It is not even, as some have rather weirdly screeched, a repeat of the 2007 strike vote. It's just business. And in the end, we'll have driven another piton into the cliff to support us against the avalanche of change.

16/ Now go enjoy your goddam weekend as much as anyone can enjoy anything in the dumpster fire of modern chaos.