Nick Counter

Over the years, Counter was praised by his colleagues for giving the often-fractious alliance a unified voice, a task that became increasingly trying as studios became facets of media conglomerates with diverse businesses. The group often has had difficulty reaching consensus because it represents more than 350 film and television producers, including major media giants that are fierce competitors. At the same time, Counter's pugnacious style and tactics—which included staring down opponents and publicly rebuking union officials who angered him—also made him the nemesis of many rank-and-file workers, especially during the most recent writers strike, when he was depicted as tone-deaf to their concerns. Despite his bare-knuckles style, Counter rarely lost his cool and displayed a soft side that disarmed his opponents. In the heat of negotiations with the Writers Guild in 2004, for example, Counter gave an emotional speech paying tribute to Dan Petrie, the director and father of the former guild president.

Born in Phoenix on March 21, 1940, Counter was reared in the Denver area. During summers, he worked in a Colorado steel mill where his father rose from salesman to vice president. The experience piqued his interest in labor issues. "What I learned was that unions come about because of bad management," he said in an interview with The Times in 2007. Counter was an amateur boxer and a star football player in high school, later playing halfback at the University of Colorado, where he earned a full Boettcher Scholarship to study electrical engineering.

He shifted to law, studying at Stanford University before becoming a labor attorney in Los Angeles. The studios tapped him in 1982 to unify the newly formed alliance, whose members had previously squabbled over how labor negotiations should be conducted. "I planned on doing it for three years and then getting back to my practice," Counter said.

Counter stipulated that companies act with one voice, viewing a "strike against one as a strike against all." Instead of responding to union demands, he made companies craft proposals. His biggest challenge came six years later during the 1988 strike by writers that lasted 22 weeks. Counter and his labor counterparts became convinced that future disruptions could be avoided if negotiations began well before contract expirations. The approach worked well, at least until fall 2007, when the writers—fearful that studios were shortchanging their future in the Internet era—again went on a strike. The walkout followed weeks of acrimonious talks between Counter and guild officials.

He served as a trustee on 14 of the guild and union health and pension funds and also as a trustee for the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

James Nicholas (Nick) Counter III died November 6, 2009 at the age of 69. "Nick's passing is a profound loss for the entire entertainment community," said AMPTP President Carol Lombardini. "We will all remember Nick for his passionate leadership, which was always guided by a resolute sense of fair play and an earnest desire that everyone come out a winner."

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