Criminal Minds

The Writers Guild of America (East and West) is the labor union representing writers in the movie and television industries. Like any union, the Guild seeks to protect its members and negotiates on their behalf.
The LA Times reported tht the Writers Guild recently voted to strike if they cannot negotiate a new three-year deal with the networks by October 31, when the old contract expires. 90% of the Guild members voted to strike if a new agreement was not reached.
Guild president, Patric M. Verrone, said:

Writers do not want a strike, but they are resolute and prepared to take strong, united action to defend our interest. What we must have is a contract that gives us the ability to keep up with the financial success of this ever-expanding global industry.

The vote gives the Guild the option of striking anytime after their contract expires. The strike could cost the entertainment industry $500 million. Early reports said that the writers would wait until early next year to strike - making the damage less astronomical. But now, because of stalled negotiations, the Guild is prepared to strike as early as November 1. This is much more devestating to the industry because they do not have the stockpile of scripts they would have later on.
Among the issues that the writers and networks are arguing over are the residual pay for episodes streamed over the internet and a bigger cut of home video rentals.
Shows have enough scripts to get them through the fall season, but a strike would affect midseason premieres and next year’s pilot season. Some shows would have to be cancelled before the February Sweeps, which is when advertising rates are set.
Networks say they are prepared in the event of a strike. They have stockpiled scripts, ordered a bunch of pilots for next year, and have lined up reality shows to fill the vacant spots.

So what does this mean for Criminal Minds? Apparently, the episodes already written and produced would be aired. They can film from scripts already written but the writers cannot do last-minute revisions if they’re on strike. (Writers often touch up scripts between scenes - they’re constantly needed.) Then they can air reruns.
I’m assuming that this will be a hard hit for the networks: viewers will search around for something else to watch, straying from the big networks. Loss of viewers = loss of advertising money.

The writers of America’s Next Top Model are already on strike. Instead of being credited as “Writers,” they are called “Story Producers.” This allows the CW to deny them the rights that other writers receive.

So hopefully some agreement will be reached by October 31. The writers deserve the receive fair pay and a fair share of the profits that their shows generate. As to how long we’ll be watching reruns of our favorite shows - that remains to be seen. But the longer everyone holds out, the more money it will cost the networks.

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