WRITERS OK CONTRACT 92 PERCENT OF GUILD VOTERS ENDORSE DEAL TO BOOST FILM, TV BENEFITS.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer In record numbers, members of the Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is a term often referring to the joint efforts of the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, west. Jointly, the two guilds act as the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and overwhelmingly approved a new contract giving them a respectable raise and more clout in Hollywood, the guild announced Tuesday. The three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers received 92 percent approval by the 4,128 members who voted from WGA WGA Windows Genuine Advantage (Microsoft) WGA Writers Guild of America (union for screenwriters) WGA Wise Giving Alliance (Better Business Bureau) WGA wheat germ agglutinin East and West. ``One of the most important gains from this bargaining was the realization that it is possible to have a real negotiation, with a real expiration date Expiration Date The day on which an options or futures contract is no longer valid and, therefore, ceases to exist. Notes: The expiration date for all listed stock options in the U.S. , with real bargaining and not have a strike,'' said Mona Mangan, executive director of WGA East. The two chapters have a combined membership of 11,000, of which 3,785 voted to approve the deal and 343 opposed it in ballots cast by mail and at meetings in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on Monday. ``This new contract is the product of one of the most difficult negotiations we have had in many years because of the complexity of the issues facing our industry,'' said Nick Counter, the AMPTP's president and chief negotiator. ``We commend the WGA leadership and bargaining committee for their tireless efforts toward working on solutions.'' The $41 million in increased minimum payments and residuals goes into effect retroactively to May 2, when the old contract expired and the unresolved talks had the writers on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of their first strike since 1988. While diminished by the successful WGA negotiation, the strike threat remains as the Screen Actors Guild and studios try to reach agreement on many of the same issues with a June 30 deadline looming. ``It's a good sign for the industry,'' Burbank-based media analyst Art Rockwell said of the WGA contract ratification. ``I think everybody was relieved the negotiations were a success. The writers didn't get the greatest amount of money but they did get a lot of nonmonetary gains in terms of prestige in the pecking order pecking order Basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without fear of retaliation and submits to pecking by one of higher rank. For groups of mammals (e.g. .'' The guild got nearly all the creative rights they sought, such as being allowed to be at cast readings and to be included in movie premiers and publicity efforts. ``I want to thank everyone who participated in these negotiations from both the guilds and the companies who worked to address so many issues of importance to writers,'' WGA West President John Wells John Wells may be: People:
Some issues remain unresolved, such as whether writers or directors are more deserving of the possessory pos·ses·so·ry adj. 1. Of, relating to, or having possession. 2. Law Depending on or arising from possession: possessory interest. credit ``A film by.'' WGA officials also opted to work with each studio and network individually on how writers will be compensated for works shown on the Internet. ``I think there may be a better point in time for either side to press their case for that,'' said Jeffrey B. Logsden, movie industry analyst for Los Angeles investment bank Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. ``Everybody was able to walk away with their pride and nobody got taken advantage of.'' The financial package was less than half of the $99.7 million that WGA negotiators originally sought, but far more than the studios initially wanted to give. ``It's good to know collective bargaining collective bargaining, in labor relations, procedure whereby an employer or employers agree to discuss the conditions of work by bargaining with representatives of the employees, usually a labor union. is alive and well,'' said Herb Sargent, president of WGA East. Under the new contract, the minimum payments that an estimated 25 percent of writers earn for TV and film scripts will increase 3.5 percent per year. It also includes a raise in residual rates for made-for-basic cable, made-for-pay TV and foreign distribution. The writers were not able to get higher network residuals or increases in their health and pension plans. |
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