The WGA responds to the AMPTP “check is in the mail” press release

“The facts of this matter are simple and straight forward. The WGA attempted for eight months, since March, to address via dialogue the AMPTP’s erroneous interpretation of our February agreement. These efforts included a number of conversations between the Guild’s executive director and at least one of the CEOs who made the deal with the WGA, as well as multiple conversations over months with the top executives of the AMPTP, all to no avail. We will now go to arbitration to force compliance, and we expect to prevail.

“While the date the arbitration was filed was not related to negotiations between SAG and the AMPTP, it is important to point out that the AMPTP apparently had no qualms about announcing its “deal” with the IATSE on the day prior to the mediation with SAG, obviously timed to impact on those discussions. The WGA, like everybody else in this industry, is extremely anxious about those negotiations and hopeful that the AMPTP will reach a fair and reasonable agreement with SAG quickly.”