USA: The Writers Guild of America have set a strike deadline over demands for greater share of DVD and internet revenues

Record ID: 339693

  • Title: USA: The Writers Guild of America have set a strike deadline over demands for greater share of DVD and internet revenues
  • Date: 8th November 2007
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 02, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF WRITERS GUILD BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA69ZLF0BX2Y8ZUY4VJ0TN7NZFQ
  • Story Text: The union representing U.S. screenwriters called for a strike against film and TV studios starting Monday (November 5, 2007) in a move giving negotiators one last weekend to reach a contract deal or shatter 20 years of Hollywood labour peace.
    The strike deadline was issued on Friday (November 2, 2007), a day after a three-year contract covering the 12,000-member Writers Guild of America expired, and it follows months of talks that deadlocked over the union's demands for a greater share of DVD and Internet revenues. Union officials said the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. PST/3:01 a.m. EST/0701 GMT and picket lines would go up in Los Angeles and New York City.
    "I don't think they want this to happen," explained Guild President Patric M. Verrone. "I don't think this is good for business. We don't want it to happen, but, the thing we want less is a bad contract."
    Both sides have accused the other of stonewalling and refusing to budge from unreasonable proposals.
    The union's negotiating panel unanimously urged a walkout during a boisterous membership meeting Thursday night (November 1, 2007), and the Writers Guild's governing board voted to ratify that recommendation.
    No further contract talks were immediately scheduled, but union leaders said at a news conference there was still time to avoid a confrontation that, if prolonged, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues and wages.
    "Every business deals with ambiguity, the ides that the response to ambiguity is to try to get people to work for you for free. It doesn't wash with us," said John Bowman, chairman of the union's negotiating committee. He said that while reluctant to go on strike, the Writers Guild felt it had to act decisively.
    The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, is the bargaining arm of the studios.
    The stars say they just hope the strike doesn't drag on too long.
    "I want to handle it and let's get on to what we all want to do, I mean, I just want to make movies," explained Tom Cruise at the premiere his latest film, Lions for Lambs." "I know that's what they want to do, so let's handle it quickly, and to their betterment and let's go."
    The last major Hollywood strike was a Writers Guild walkout in 1988 that lasted 22 weeks, delayed the start of the fall TV season and cost the industry an estimated 500 million U.S. dollars. Los Angeles economist Jack Kyser said a strike of the same duration today could result in at least one billion USD in economic losses.
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