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Tyler Perry’s writers family disunion

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UPDATE: Matt Johnson, attorney for Perry, said the writers were terminated for the ‘quality of their work’ and accused the guild of misrepresenting the facts and negotiating in bad faith with the company.

Tyler Perry, whose films embody messages of hope for people trying to improve their lives, draws the line at writers.

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At least that’s the view of the Writers Guild of America, West. The guild announced late Thursday that it had filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that mini-mogul Perry had unlawfully fired four writers on the cable TV series for trying to get a union contract.

The guild has tried for months to negotiate a contract covering writers on the TBS sitcom and another Tyler series, ‘Meet the Browns,’ on USA. But those efforts broke down Tuesday, the guild said, when director/producer/playwright/actor Perry fired the writers after warning them that they could be replaced if they continued to angle for a guild contract.

Not prone to shirking from a fight -- or a photo op -- the Writers Guild now plans to stage a ‘strike action’ against Perry’s production company during Saturday’s opening ceremonies of his new studio facility in Atlanta. Perry could not be reached be reached for comment.

Since ending its 100-day strike in February, the Writers Guild has continued to take an aggressive stand in organizing reality TV shows, such as ‘American Idol’ and various basic cable series like ‘House of Payne.’ The union has signed up several shows on Comedy Central in recent months.

-- Richard Verrier

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