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Posts: 4254
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Ummm...strike now over??
Hollywood writers' strike agreement 'a good deal'
President of the Writers Guild of America East, Michael Winship, said that the tentative contract deal with major studios could bring the screenwriters strike to an end as early as Monday, but "not necessarily."
Mr Winship spoke at an impromptu news conference outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel just before a WGA meeting where union leaders briefed rank-and-file members on terms of the agreement, which had been finalized hours earlier.
"I believe it's a good deal," he told reporters. "I will be recommending it to our membership."
The WGA West planned a similar informational meeting in Los Angeles for members there.
The union's negotiating committee will then decide whether to recommend the pact to the governing boards of the WGA West and East Coast branches. Those two bodies could sign off on the agreement tomorrow and start the ratification process by the guild membership, Mr Winship said.
Ratifying the contract itself under normal circumstances could take up to a month. But board members could decide to end the strike on their own, perhaps as quickly as when they meet, by approving a back-to-work order.
If board members decide not to lift the strike before the members vote, the union could opt for an expedited ratification that would take anywhere from two to 10 days and potentially allow members to return to work by mid-week.
It is not a done deal, Mr Winship said, "but it's pretty much done."
The strike has thrown the US television industry into turmoil, derailed several movie productions and idled thousands of entertainment workers, from actors and directors to hairstylists, set designers and clerks.
The strike also has overshadowed the entertainment industry's annual awards season, even threatening to spoil the Oscars show later this month.
Last month's Golden Globes awards ceremony was cancelled after the actors' union said it would refuse to cross the writers' picket line.
Source: ABC News.
__________________"Immortality! Take it! It's yours!" ~ Brad Pitt (Achillies) - Troy
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'nuff of that people! Getting really
