William Schmidt has offered to drop out of the race for presidency of the Writers Guild of America West and endorse David Goodman — if Goodman returns to the bargaining table with agents by September.
Schmidt disclosed the offer Friday, saying he had breakfasted with Goodman and found him to be warm, gregarious and funny.
“While he seemed irritated at my going public with the unconstitutionality of the e-letter to agents, we only had one point of disagreement, the timing of negotiations with the Big Four,” Schmidt said. “I want them to begin immediately, he’s willing to wait awhile more.”
Goodman is seeking re-election with results announced Sept. 16. Phyllis Nagy is also seeking the presidency, running on a similar platform on the Writers for Negotiation slate.
Schmidt, whose credits include “Yellowstone,” “Outsiders” and “Charmed,” disagrees with Goodman’s leadership regarding the April directive for members to fire their agents if they had not signed the WGA Code of Conduct.
Goodman announced on June 21 that the guild had called off negotiations with the Association of Talent Agents in favor of pursuing individual talks with nine top agencies as it enforces a total ban on packaging fees and affiliated production for agents representing guild members. No new talks have been scheduled.
Schmidt also thanked Goodman for his hard work and added, “Having been on the Board of Directors, I know Guild service comes with long hours and no pay. People do it because it needs to be done, because they care about the Guild. I’m serious about my offer to David. The most important thing is to get back to the negotiating table.”
(Pictured: David Goodman)