Writers May Have Pact. Huckabee Crosses Picket Line—Again

[Omaha Steve]

by Mike Hall, Feb 8, 2008

Television and movie writers who have been on strike since Nov. 5 will meet tomorrow in New York City and Los Angeles to discuss a potential tentative agreement that could end the strike. The Writers Guild of America members have been fighting to win a fair share of revenue for their work distributed online, through DVDs and other new media.

Also on the strike front, Republican presidential candidate and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) crossed another picket line (See below.).



Officials of the Writers Guild of America, East ( WGAE), Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been meeting informally since Jan. 24, the first meetings between the two sides since the producers walked out of negotiations in December.

In a letter to their members posted on both unions’ websites today, WGAE President Michael Winship and WGAW President Patric Verrone say:

We are continuing to negotiate the terms of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We anticipate that we will be able to present the terms of that agreement to you in the next few days. In order to have a full discussion with you of the terms and how they were reached, and in order to get your input before making recommendations or decisions, we have scheduled membership meetings for current-active members only for this Sat., February 9, in New York and Los Angeles.

We urge you to attend. We have gotten to this point in our negotiation as the direct result of the power of this strike, which each of you has generated. Neither the Negotiating Committee, nor the East Council or the West Board, will take action on any contract until after the membership meetings are held and your voices have been heard. We are all in this together.


FULL story at link.