The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) was then and is now one of the largest and most powerful unions in America with 1.5 million members. It has a history that has been captured in movies, rightly or wrongly, by the talents of Sylvester Stallone (F.I.S.T.), Chris Cooper (Matewan), Jack Nicholson (Hoffa) and countless others.

The writers on strike today with the WGA seem unlikely to storm the studio gates, rough up the water delivery guy, or burn an executive’s Lexus. All which would have been easy targets for the likes of old-man Hoffa. Jimmy’s been dead for over 30 years, the labor movement’s gone legitimate, and writers, well, they’re just not Teamsters.

No, they are not. They are AFL-CIO.

Unions have a confusing history that goes back before the turn of the century. The IBT represented the guys that drove the wagons pulled by mules and oxen. A tough breed to be sure. They were part of the larger American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1955 the AFL merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to form the AFL-CIO. Many of the member unions of the CIO actually broke away from the AFL in the late thirties.

The two guilds representing American writers, the Writers Guild of America West (WGAw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAe) have roots that go back to the early days of the labor movement. WGA is an offspring of the 1920’s Screen Writers Guild. While the WGAe finds its heritage rooted in the Authors' League of America (ALA) of 1912.

Over a twenty-year period from the mid-thirties to the early 1950s, the two organizations joined forces, formally merged, then re-emerged into roughly their present day structures.

In 1989 WGAe members elected to join the AFL-CIO. So, the writers, at least those represented by the east coast, are card-carrying members of the present day AFL-CIO. Cousins of the Teamsters.

Well, almost. In 2005 the Teamsters elected to withdraw from the AFL-CIO. In an odd twist of fate, it was Teamster President James P. Hoffa - son of Jimmy - who gave formal notice of the IBT’s decision to go it alone.

The WGA and WGAe, however, don’t have to go it alone. In addition to support from the AFL-CIO, the two guilds also have support from the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG).

This is an association of guilds from Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa, and New Zealand. The IAWG also has an alliance with the Federation of Scriptwriters in Europe.

It appears that all of the guilds have the same general purpose, to promote “writer-friendly legislation” according to the IAWG and to do so, if necessary, through “collection action.”

So, how much support will the Canadians lend to this collective action? The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), which attended some of the negotiating sessions between writers and producers issued a statement claiming they “witnessed first hand the complete disregard of our colleagues’ bargaining issues by the AMPTP…Their fight is our fight.”

That sounds pretty ominous. Could the American writers strike become an international walkout?

Aside from the heavy rhetoric, the Canadian guild rules provide that Canadian writers can continue to work for Canadian producers. WGA writers who live in Canada and are also members of the WGC can also work on Canadian projects, per the WGC rules. It is the intent of the Canadian guild to support American writers by boycotting American producers.

Given the complicated, international nature of film production and finance it will be nearly impossible for guilds to properly police cross-border projects. Some projects involve as many as six different production companies located in as many countries with each of these companies providing a piece of the puzzle for the finished project: finance, distribution, production, talent, or writers.

Foreign producers may employ writers in Canada, Great Britain, and elsewhere to work on their projects. It could be months or years before the writers or guilds discover that a major U.S. studio or producer was involved in the project. Adding to the confusion, foreign producers may not secure American funding and distribution until late in the development of a project, after the writing assignments are completed.

It’s being reported that some American writers are already crossing picket lines to work on network soaps and the WGAw has formed a special committee to ensure that the Strike Rules are strictly enforced and to discourage writing by scabs.

The Guild has a difficult job of keeping the wheels from falling off the stike-wagon. The longer the strike, the more difficult that job.

What may be missing in the equation is a tough-as-nails labor boss to keep the rank and file in line. Old man Hoffa may have said it best, “In the old days all you needed was a handshake. Nowadays you need forty lawyers.”