Nov 12, 2007 2:21 pm US/Pacific
Children Join Their Parents On The Picket Lines
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Writers gathered Friday in Century City.
CBS
The children of some striking TV and film writers will be heading to Disney studios Monday, but it won't be to see a taping of "Hannah Montana."
Instead, they will be joining their parents on the picket lines at Disney, CBS, Fox and several other studios as the Writers Guild of America strike enters its second week.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers took out ads in Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter Monday headlined "Setting the Record Straight."
"As the WGA knows and its own records will attest, writers are paid residuals on permanent digital downloads."
"As the WGA knows and its own records will attest, writers are paid residuals on pay-per-view digital downloads."
"This additional compensation was part of more than $260,000,000 in record-breaking residuals paid to WGAW members in 2006."
"When the WGA went on strike, an offer to pay writers for Internet streaming was on the table."
A Writers Guild spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Picketers took the weekend off, but met to discuss strategy.
Teamsters, who drive the trucks that haul all the equipment needed for on-location shoots, have been crossing picket lines. Local union leaders have told drivers it's up to them to back the writers or not, according to the Los Angeles Times.
One Paramount Studios driver, however, told the newspaper that he got a memo saying that he would go to work or be fired.
The strike started Nov. 1 after the WGA contract expired, and negotiations are stalled. A major stumbling block has been payments for reruns aired on the Internet and other new media, according to the WGA.
No new talks are scheduled.
Picketing was scheduled until 2 p.m. Monday.
Over the weekend, the writers expressed solidarity for striking stagehands in New York City, offering their assistance and support. Members of International Association of Theater and Stage Employees Local 1 went on strike against the League of American Theatres and Producers, and Broadway stages were dark Saturday.
Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, Monday sent a joint letter of support to James Claffey, president of the IATSE local in New York.
"Just as you have stood with us in our current strike against the motion picture and television studios and networks, so, too, do we stand with you as you seek the fair and respectful contract that you have earned and deserve," they said in the letter.
Daily TV talk shows have been hit hard by the strike, and many other programs have also stopped production without writers to provide dialogue.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged both sides to settle their differences quickly. He said the strike was already having a major impact on the state's economy.
A WGA strike in 1988 was the last to cause a major disruption in the entertainment industry. It lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry an estimated $500 million.
The bifurcated WGA claims about 12,000 members, about 4,000 of whom are in New York.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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