The Writers Guild launched new calls for on Friday that would extend the three-month strike even longer.
The calls for embrace some extent that the businesses comply with “a health care benefit extension” that might give hanging writers extra time to qualify for the well being protection that many face dropping due to an absence of earnings through the work-stoppage.
Friday’s assembly was held to debate phrases for a doable return to the bargaining desk. But as an alternative of bringing them nearer to a deal to finish the strike, it might have solely moved them farther aside.
Under the previous contract, writers needed to earn not less than $41,773 a 12 months to qualify for well being care protection. But with three-months – and counting – of earnings already misplaced due to the strike, writers may have much less time to achieve that earnings threshold as soon as the strike is over.
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According to an announcement launched by the guild final evening, Ellen Stutzman, the WGA’s chief negotiator, “made clear” to the AMPTP that “in addition to a comprehensive response from the AMPTP on our proposals in all work areas, we will need to address issues arising from the strike, including a health care benefit extension” and “additional” funding to the guild’s Pension & Health Fund.
Up till now, the WGA’s solely well being care proposals on the desk had been for every member of a writing staff to obtain pension and well being contributions as in the event that they have been writing as a person – a perennial demand that the businesses rejected; and for the guild to have the choice to divert 0. 5% of any negotiated minimums will increase to the P&H Fund, which was one of many few points on which the 2 sides had managed to succeed in a tentative settlement earlier than the strike was launched on May 2.
The incessantly requested questions web page of the WGA’s strike web site notes, “There is no Health Fund requirement that the Health Plan extend health insurance coverage during a strike, and Trustees are 50% management and 50% Guild. If you fall out of coverage during the strike, extended benefits may be available under COBRA.”
Loss of well being protection is an issue for all trade employees throughout strikes. Last month, IATSE president Matt Loeb urged the Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans – which cowl IATSE and different below-the-line employees – to grant an easing of the Plans’ eligibility necessities, which the Plans’ board of administrators has now improved so as “to help participants and dependents affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.”
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SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14, and its members are additionally going through the lack of well being care protection. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland stated in a latest podcast that, “As far as health and pension go, eligibility requirements are going to remain the same” through the strike. “We would love to adjust those requirements, or make special exceptions, however, as many of our members undoubtedly know, the Pension & Health Plans are run by a joint board of trustees, half of which are controlled by the studios and streamers – the management-side trustees – so there is no vision on the horizon where we can get these management trustees to agree to make adjustments to the eligibility requirements.”
A well being care profit extension and extra funding for the WGA’s well being plan should not the one new points arising from the strike itself that the WGA says must be addressed. On Friday evening, the WGA stated that Stutzman additionally “made clear” that any new deal may even want to handle “reinstatement of striking writers, and arbitration of disputes arising during the strike. We will also seek the right for individual WGA members to honor other unions’ picket lines as they have honored ours during this strike.”
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