WGA gives Image Awards a break

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) announced today at a press conference that it will sign an interim agreement with the NAACP for The 39th NAACP Image Awards, which will take place on February 14, 2008, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.The agreement will allow the hiring of WGA writers to script the show and means that there will be no picketing of the event by striking writers. In addition, the Guild has granted a waiver permitting the use of clips from motion pictures and television programs.’The NAACP would like to thank the leadership of the WGA and its members for demonstrating their support of the NAACP and its historic mission by granting The NAACP Image Awards an interim agreement,’ said Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP. ‘The NAACP stands in solidarity with the Writers Guild in its fight for meaningful collective bargaining and the rights of all workers to make an honest and fair living.’Speaking at the press conference were Patric M. Verrone, president of the WGA West, NAACP Image Awards Committee Chair Clayola Brown, Vicangelo Bulluck, executive producer of the show, and WGA members Robert Eisele (screenwriter, The Great Debaters, executive producer, Resurrection Blvd.) and Mara Brock Akil (creator and executive producer, Girlfriends, The Game).“The Guild examines each request like this individually and no decision is easy. Our ultimate goal is to resolve this strike by achieving a good contract. Because of the historic role the NAACP has played in struggles like ours, we think this decision is appropriate to jointly achieve our goals,” said Verrone. Presented annually, the NAACP Image Awards is the nation’s premier event celebrating the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice. Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitors of equal opportunity in the public and private sectors. For more information on the NAACP and the NAACP Image Awards visit www.naacpimageawards.net.