If and when we get into one of the upcoming (and likely) strikes in the Hollywood labor scene, a name you may hear often is that of J. Nicholas Counter III, who is the President of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Basically, what he is is the Point Man for Hollywood labor negotiations. The unions all negotiate with a multi-employer bargaining unit called the Motion Picture Association of America and Counter is the guy who coordinates between them.
Let's say the Directors Guild demands that every movie set have a plentiful supply of onion bagels. Let's say that Time-Warner, which is one member of the multi-employer bargaining unit, says that's fine with them. Let's say that Disney, which is another, says absolutely not. Disney, like all of the core member companies, has the right to veto any contract. It then becomes Mr. Counter's job to haggle, talk, cajole, coordinate and otherwise settle that blockade. Often, it amounts to turning to the directors and saying, "No, you can't have the onion bagels." That's how strikes happen and why it sometimes takes so long to settle them.
This article will give you a nice overview of Mr. Counter and how he operates. Take note of the mention in there of Lew Wasserman who, in a time before massive conglomerates owned studios, could get on the phone, make three calls and tell everyone involved to knock off this crap and just give the directors their damn onion bagels and get the strike settled. Counter's job these days is not that easy.
During the '88 Writers Guild strike, I had two occasions to talk at some length with Nick Counter. One time, he was with Jack Valenti, who was then the President of the M.P.A.A. — i.e., Counter's boss — and we spent most of that time talking about Lyndon Johnson, for whom Valenti had once worked. (Valenti said, "My job mainly consisted of being called an asshole every hour or so by the leader of the free world." Counter then interjected something like, "Jack treats me a little better than that.") The other time though, Counter and I were alone and he impressed me as a man who had to deal, day in and day out, with forces that were no less reasonable than L.B.J. — and almost as powerful. I happen to think that whole strike went on as long as it did not because of anything the WGA was demanding but because the various studios couldn't all get on the same page at the same time. Which is not to suggest anyone else in Counter's position could have done a better job getting them to agree.
I don't know how things have changed since '88 but obviously, Nick Counter's still in that critical job because they're happy with how he does it…from their viewpoint. My spider-sense tells me that the next big strike may be way beyond his ability to contain.
And by the way…isn't that the perfect name for a guy in that position? Nick Counter. My first driving instructor was Mr. Brake but this is even better.
