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WGA Recommends Strike to Members; Stoppage to Begin Monday


The WGA has spoken. After brief recaps of the status of negotiations by Guild president Patric Verrone, Negotiating Committee chairman John Bowman and lead negotiator David Young, it was announced Thursday night that the committee will recommend an immediate strike to the Guild Board to vote on Friday morning. UPDATE: The vote has since been taken, and the writers will strike on Monday, Nov. 5.

Actor Alan Rosenberg was there to express SAG support and was well received. The meeting was held at Los Angeles’ Convention Center.

Verrone acknowledged that the only remaining issue to be decided is not whether the strike will take place but how soon it will commence. (It appears that Monday is likely.)

The most significant issue driving the strike is the AMPTP's refusal to negotiate payments for new media delivery. “There seems to be a consensus among even the most conservative strike-adverse members of the Guild that this is a compelling reason for the work stoppage,” an attendee told TV Guide.

The meeting was attended by more than 3,000 members.

Among those who didn’t attend were television writers scrambling to complete production work before their shows were shut down. Many shows do not yet have the scripts necessary to complete their orders from the network.

“It’s a very apprehensive time here,” a producer of a network one-hour drama told TV Guide.

Just before the meeting took place Thursday night, a WGA member told TV Guide that many writers are frightened of the strike, noting “it doesn’t just affect the writers, it’ll affect everyone in production."

The mood of the crowd “was serious and committed” in the face of a possibly long and financially draining action, according to one attendee. Those who strongly support the strike believe that a positive result for the WGA will likely benefit future members more than current ones