On October 31, 2007, the contract for the Writers Guild of America, which represents 12,000 television, movie, news, and new-media writers, is set to expire. Despite more than two months of contentious talks, the usual sticking points—such as formulas for the distribution of residuals—remain. And this time, negotiators must contend with an additional problem: Neither side knows for sure where the money they hope to divvy up will come from, as new methods of content creation, distribution, and consumption emerge. With contracts for actors and directors set to expire in June, Hollywood is bracing for a meltdown. WGA Writers Guild of America is set to go on strike one minute after midnight Monday November 5, 2007 if contract bargaining fails. Strikes could start at Rockefeller Center in New York as early as 3 a.m EST and fan out to multiple Los Angeles Studios early Monday. At least audiences have this consolation: If theaters go dark and TV gets boring with re-runs, they can always turn to YouTube.
Here's the official Press Release:
Contact: Gregg Mitchell (323) 782-4574
Sherry Goldman (718) 224-4133
News Release: November 2, 2007
Writers Guild of America Votes to Call for Strike, Effective Monday, November 5
"LOS ANGELES -- The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), acting upon the authority granted them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Monday, November 5.
The decision was made following over three months of negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP. To date, the studios have not responded to a single one of the WGA's important proposals, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction.
On October 18, WGAW and WGAE members voted by an overwhelming majority of 90.3% to authorize a strike if a fair deal was not reached by the October 31 contract expiration date."
(Jay Fermin ppp-usa)