Writer's Strike
Here for the article
1. Hollywood's film and television writers went on strike early this morning after last-ditch efforts to negotiate a deal with the major studios failed Sunday.
2. Both sides are girding for what many believe will be a long and debilitating strike, potentially more disruptive than the 22-week walkout by writers in 1988, which cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million.
3. Even as negotiators were hunkered down behind closed doors, strike captains were sending e-mail notices to guild members and guild directors, informing them where to show up today on the picket lines.
4. Earlier in the day, writers at the guild's West Coast headquarters in the Fairfax district had loaded their picket signs onto trucks.
5. The union had organized a network of 300 strike captains who were ready to stage daily pickets at all the major studios, including Disney and Warner Bros. as well as CBS Television City and NBC headquarters in Burbank.
6. When we asked if they would stop the clock for the purpose of delaying the strike to allow negotiations to continue, they refused," Counter said.
7. Several TV studios have reminded employees that they have the option to resign from the guild and still work. "We're not concerned about our members going fi-core," said Jeff Hermanson, assistant executive director for the Writers Guild of America, West. He added that only a handful of members have financial core status today.
