Writers Drop Demand and a Picket Plan

WRITERS DROP DEMAND AND A PICKET PLAN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Cieply and Jeff Leeds]
In a major step toward ending a 12-week walkout, Hollywood’s striking writers on Tuesday dropped their demand for extended jurisdiction over reality and animation work and agreed to extend informal talks with Hollywood production companies, even as they decided not to picket next month’s Grammy Awards telecast. The decision to drop the jurisdiction demand removed a major impediment to reaching a deal similar to last week’s settlement between the production companies and the Directors Guild of America. In a letter to members, leaders of the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East said they would continue efforts to organize reality and animation writers, but would do so apart from the contract negotiation. Since last week, ferocious debate has swirled within the writers’ guilds as to whether they should pursue an immediate agreement patterned on the directors’ deal. Writers as prominent as John Wells, a former president of the Writers Guild of America West, have argued in favor of the directors’ agreement, which addresses issues similar to those facing writers, especially regarding compensation for digital media. But leaders of the writers’ guilds and of the allied Screen Actors Guild have cautioned against knee-jerk acceptance of the directors’ terms, which, among other things, pegged the residual for electronic downloads of films and television shows at roughly double the rate paid when programming is distributed on DVD.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/business/media/23strike.html?ref=today...
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