Negotiations are underway; so are plans to picket
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
With a strike deadline looming, negotiators for Hollywood’s film and TV writers and major studios remain hunkered down in last-minute talks to avert a debilitating walkout that would begin Monday.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are making a last-ditch effort to reach a deal. The two sides sat down at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, and talks have continued into the late afternoon. Negotiations between the parties broke off last week when the writers’ three-year contract expired.
Negotiations are at an impasse largely over sharing revenue from DVDs and shows distributed on the Internet and other new media platforms. Elsewhere, the WGA was organizing efforts to get members out on the picket lines early Monday morning. The strike is set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday, although picketers aren’t scheduled to fan out across the county until 9 a.m.
Guild members are being asked to sign up for a shift beginning at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. and will be given signs, chants and red T-shirts emblazoned with ‘United We Stand’ when they arrive on site, captains said. Each member was expected to picket four hours every day. Pickets were also planned for New York.
‘These are some of the most important issues writers have faced in many years,’ said Dan E. Fesman, a writer for ‘NCIS.’ ‘If we don’t get these protections now, then we don’t know what our futures are going to be.’
‘It’s the middle class versus the CEOs -- maybe the middle class can win one this time,’ said Sivert Glarum, who has written for shows such as ‘Rules of Engagement’ and ‘King of the Hill.’
Richard Verrier
Photo credit: Associated Press