Writers to Strike Monday

The WGA West board and WGA East Council on Friday voted to accept negotiators' recommendation and stage a writers strike starting Monday.

Pickets are expected at studios and networks on both coasts, barring positive developments this weekend in the contract standoff between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has connected with reps of the guild and the studio companies in an attempt to get talks back on track. The mayor met in person with WGA West president Patric Verrone and other labor execs Tuesday, and he subsequently discussed the situation with studios reps.

There also is some talk of the AMPTP's delivering a new proposal to the guild in an effort to avoid work stoppage. The labor side appears to put more emphasis on that possibility, and similarly it is the guild more than management that has stressed the potential value of the mayor's continuing involvement in the situation..

11/02