WGA, CBS Reach Tentative Deal 

The WGA has reached a tentative deal with CBS covering about 500 news employees, who have worked for nearly two years without a new contract. The deal comes seven weeks after the CBS News employees repped by the guild gave the WGA a strike authorization with 81% support. That had raised the prospect of the WGA conducting two strikes at once but recent negotiations between the WGA and the net were productive enough to lead to the deal.

The WGA-CBS agreement covers newswriters, editors, desk assistants, production assistants, graphic artists, promotion writers and researchers in New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles.

In an announcement Wednesday afternoon, the WGA said the agreement has been approved unanimously by the WGA-CBS Negotiating Committee. It must still be ratified by membership vote.

If ratified, the new contract will run until April1, 2010. WGA-repped CBS News employees will receive a 3.5% raise upon ratification of the contract and again in 2009.

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01-09