This morning, I wrote a bitchy, snide, mean, querulous, cynical, argumentative post about the low turn-out for the Writers Guild vote yesterday, because....well...THAT'S JUST THE WAY I AM.
To restate my observation (see below), I fail to understand why only 4,000-or-so writers cast a ballot when the other 7,000 members couldn't get their butts over to a polling place in LA or NY to cast a ballot too. I mean, it wasn't like this thing wasn't publicized.
Well, since posting this, Sherry Goldman - who's done a fine and honorable job representing the WGA to the east coast press since this strike began and is never any of those things that I demonstrably am - had a detailed and reasonable response to my questions about the turn-out.
I quote Sherry in full:
"The reason that only 3,775 writers voted is because it was a 48-hour vote and writers had to go to meetings in either NY or LA or vote by proxy. Many Writers Guild members do not live nearby either - for example, the WGAE membership covers everything East of the Mississippi and also England and Ireland. So, it is difficult if not impossible for people to get to the meetings. We consider this vote turnout a strong turnout.
"But, since the 48-hour vote is not easy for everyone to vote, that is why the Guilds decided that contract ratification vote will be a mail ballot. Later this week ballots are being sent to all members covered under this contract - and members can vote by mail, proxy or in person at membership meetings on Feb. 25. Constitutionally, we are required to give 10 days for a mail ballot - so this process works for the contract ratification vote. But, our membership told as (at the member meetings over the weekend) that they did not want to wait 10 days for the strike to be lifted either by the contract ratification vote or by a separate mail vote. That's why it was split this way."