How to Vote by Proxy and What That Means

From tonight's captains' bulletin:

To cast your ballot in person: Vote at the Writers Guild Theater, 135 S. Doheny Drive 90211. Tuesday, February 12, 2008 from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

If members can't cast a ballot in person: Proxy ballots are available. To vote by proxy, download this form and fax to 323-421-9177. Proxies must be faxed in by Tuesday February 12, by 2 pm, or dropped off at the WGAW

For clarity -- and because not everyone could get to one of the meetings last night in NY or LA -- here's a handy little FAQ for some of the questions we're hearing.

What's the 48 hour vote for again?

It's a vote on whether or not to lift the strike (which in the Constitution is called "the restraining order".) If the vote passes, writers can go back to work.

It's not a vote on the contract,

This email was just sent to strike captains. It contains info on the NegCom vote, the Board and Council votes, the pending vote to lift the strike, and the pending vote to ratify the contract.

DEAR STRIKE CAPTAINS,

This morning, the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously and unconditionally recommended the terms of the proposed 2008 MBA to the WGAW Board and WGAE Council. The Board and Council

Although faculty meetings can be hazardous to one's emotional well-being, they are nevertheless a seemingly necessary evil. Attendance is not mandatory, but it's best to go if you can. Sometimes, however, professional travel and other responsibilities conflict with faculty meetings, and it is not possible to attend.

This was sent out today by the WGA:

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting

Status Quo
877-752-7391 or text 1 to 23882

JabbaWockeeZ
877-752-7392 or text 2 to 23882

Kaba Modern
877-752-7393 or text 3 to 23882

Or you can vote online here. You may vote until 4am EDT Saturday.

Emotions are flying fast and furious around this issue: do we hold a ratification vote before we lift the strike? Or do we go back to work as quickly as Monday, and hold the vote afterwards?

To get our position up here as quickly and accurately as possible, we decided to do separate grafs signed by each of us, and combine them into one post.

We're all coming at this from different perspectives

I've been avoiding a few big-time classics for awhile, mainly because they are so long.

Doug and I braved the cold winds in Wasilla to check out the voting. We got to the Republican polling site and were floored by all the cars there.

As we drove into the lot we could see a line of people down the hall and out the door and into the parking lot and - all standing in the wind! I rolled down the window and asked, "You waiting to vote?" "Yep!"

The 2007 Canadian Blog Awards get underway today.

People keep asking me who I'm planning to vote for Tuesday and I didn't have an answer -- it was a very tough call. Then I saw an ad last night in which Robert Kennedy Jr. endorses Hillary, and that sealed the deal. I'm voting for Obama.