The WGA has spoken. After brief recaps of the status of negotiations by Guild President Patric Verrone, Negotiating Committee Chairman John Bowman and lead negotiator David Young, it was announced Thursday night [Nov. 1] that the Committee will recommend an immediate strike to the Guild Board to vote on tomorrow [Friday, Nov. 2] morning. Actor Alan Rosensberg was there to express SAG support and was well received. The meeting was held at Los Angeles Convention Center.Verrone acknowledged the only issue that remains to be decided is not if the strike will take place but just how soon it will commence (and it appears that Monday is likely).The most significant issue driving the strike is the AMPTP's refusal to negotiate payments for new media delivery. There seems to be a consensus among even the most conservative strike adverse members of the Guild that this is a compelling reason for the work stoppage, an attendee told TV Guide.The meeting was attended by more than 3000 members. Many who didnt attend were television writers scrambling to complete what production work they can before the show will invariably be shut down. Many shows do not have scripts to complete their orders from the network. Its a very apprehensive time here, a producer of a network one-hour drama tells TV Guide.Just before the meeting took place Thursday night, a WGA member told TV Guide that many writers are frightened of the strike, noting it doesnt just affect the writers, itll affect everyone in production."The mood of the crowd was serious and committed in the face of a possibly long, financially draining action, added the attendee. Those who strongly support the strike believe that a positive result to the WGA is likely to benefit future members to perhaps an even greater degree than than current ones.
