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

This was sent to membership Friday night, asking for patience as the WGA assesses the deal and moves foward with the AMPTP:

To Our Fellow Members,

As you know, the Directors Guild announced yesterday that it has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We are waiting for the full terms of the deal to be made available so that we can carefully analyze and evaluate the language and numbers.

Before we begin, here's a caveat: WE ARE NOT LAWYERS. WE ARE NOT BUSINESS AFFAIRS EXECS. WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL NEGOTIATORS.

We're a group of volunteer WGA strike captains, and we're posting our reactions to the DGA deal summary that was released today. These are our thoughts alone. They are not official, they don't reflect the WGA's opinion, and frankly, they will probably include a few

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

This piece is by WGA strike captain Alfredo Barrios, a former corporate attorney turned writer. It offers insight into what the AMPTP methods and rationale for undermining the writers' resolve. Thanks to Ashley Gable for submitting this to us. -JA

We’re two months into the strike, and I’ve noticed a certain confusion and fear emanating from certain quarters about how things have been “handled”

This was submitted by WGA member Christopher Trumbo, member for 40 years, and son of WGA member Dalton Trumbo. His insights into the history of the guild are especially valuable now, as the strike continues and the AMPTP tries to divide us.

Two articles in the New York Times today (11/16/07) put a personal perspective on the strike. Bill Carter's "Late Shows Move to Help The Workers Not on Strike" and Jennifer Steinhauer's "Writers' Strike Opens New Window on Hollywood".

Carter reports about efforts by Talk Show Hosts to keep their staffs paid, even if they can't be on the air. Steinhauer profiles the personal stories of writers, costumers, assistants, electricians, and thousands of others who are now or who will soon be out of work.

What these stories have in common is one underlying fact: the AMPTP won't sit down with the WGA.

Notwithstanding the AMPTP's full page ads, they'd rather spend their energy and money on avoiding talking to the writers and negotiating a fair deal. And why?

While the weekend and Monday saw rumors of "the strike's over," some caution has finally entered the dialogue. Here is the opening of Variety's main strike article today:"As the lawyers work overtime to hammer out the details, scenarios are emerging that could -- underline could -- bring an end to the WGA strike by as early as next week.
Insiders are strongly warning that many aspects remain to

If you've never been in a Hollywood development meeting, one of the most frustrating things for writers about such gatherings is often the lack of consensus amongst those giving the studio notes. With so many people involved - from the creative exec, to the director of development, to the VP to the Senior VP, to INSERT RANDOM PERSON HERE - each giving their opinion and input, they're rarely all on the same page.

But have the studios brought "development hell" to the current strike negotiations?

According to a showrunner who was briefed on the situation, there is real dissension in their ranks. Each of the corporations comprising the AMPTP has a labor lawyer in the room negotiating for them (not to be outdone, Time Warner has three!). Furthermore, some of the companies are willing to make a deal today and are getting more than a little pissed at those who are holding out.

This is excerpted from the email that Warners strike captain Brian Hartt sent to other captains this week, with permission. Brian is an Emmy-nominated writer who coordinates all of the Warners picket teams, as well as being the showrunner on Mind of Mencia who helped get 4 West Coast and 2 East Coast shows on Comedy Central covered by the WGA contract . His tireless work and dedication are inspiring.

As I'm sure you all know, the AMPTP walked away from the table Friday.

You all should have, by now, gotten John Bowman's response to the "nice try" press release by the company's lap dog. Let me stress something that John mentioned - their press release came out minutes after they walked away.

(WGAw President Patric M. Verrone released the following statement a short time ago)

December 13, 2007

To My Fellow Members:

The AMPTP and each of its member companies have a legal obligation to bargain in good faith with the WGA. Their unilateral walkout from negotiations last Friday and their on-going refusal to bargain is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act. Therefore the WGA today filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against the AMPTP with the National Labor Relations Board.

The DGA’s announcement today that it may begin negotiations with the AMPTP in January in no way relieves the AMPTP of their legal obligation to negotiate with us. The only legal way for the AMPTP to remedy the Unfair Labor Practice charge we have filed is to return to the bargaining table.

We're working on analysis now, as is the WGA and pretty much everyone else in town. Here's the DGA's statement:

DGA AND AMPTP REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
ON TERMS OF NEW CONTRACT

DGA Gains Solid Wage Increases with No Rollbacks Plus Precedent-Setting Jurisdiction Over New-Media and a Doubling of EST Residuals Rate

LOS ANGELES – The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced today that it has

December 16, 2007

Dear Writers Guild of America Members,

I am writing to you on behalf of 120,000 proud members of Screen Actors Guild who stand with you in solidarity as your strike continues. We believe that now more than ever, we must remain strong and even more committed to achieving our common objectives. We are proud to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with you and SAG will be there for as long as it takes.

Your fight is our fight. Our National Executive Director Doug Allen and I are working around the clock with Patric Verrone and David Young to coordinate our strike support efforts. I'm sure you have seen some of the thousands of Screen Actors Guild members who've been walking the picket lines in Los Angeles, New York and around the country for the last six weeks.

The Weinstein Co. said today it is close to reaching a deal with the WGA. Company officials said they expected the interim agreement to be signed by the end of the today, Thursday.

If the deal is finalized, it would mark the second independent studio deal the WGA has reached thus far during the strike. Monday, the WGA made a separate agreement with United Artists.

More when (if) this becomes

The last day of official picketing ended with a high point at Fox.

Writers were joined on the picket line by many supporters. The honking at the Pico gate reached new decibel levels as crowds of picketers filled the sidewalk and waved their signs at the passing traffic.

The signs told the story: "WGA-DGA-SAG", "The House is Not Divided," "DGA-WGA Member," "Union Solidarity".

The appearance of so many SAG and DGA members made the point that even though the AMPTP spin machine works hard to create the impression that there is dissension between the unions and in the ranks of the WGA, the opposite is true.

Of course the strike has created tensions. How could it not?

There should be tensions when so much is at stake and so much has been sacrificed in the fight with the congloms. But our common interests outweigh that tension, and our solidarity is real.

The WGA Negotiating Committee, on behalf of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), today issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:

“The Writers Guilds met today with the AMPTP and discussed issues of jurisdiction for original content for the Internet, Reality TV, Animation, and Basic Cable. The talks also were focused on contract enforcement. For the last two days, we have had substantive discussions of the issues important to writers, the first time this has occurred in this negotiation. However, we are still waiting for the AMPTP to respond to all of our proposals, including Internet streaming of theatrical and television product and digital downloads. Bargaining resumes tomorrow at 10 a.m.”

For those of you who missed this news, here is the announcement from Friday about bargaining with individual companies. Since the AMPTP has so many competing agendas and can't reach consensus, perhaps its individual members will consider their own self-interest and negotiate their own deals.

A Message to the WGA Membership from its Negotiating Committee

This was sent today to WGA members from Presidents Verrone and Winship:

To Our Fellow Members:

On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you're not

(The piece below comes from a WGA member who would like to be known as "Red Sox Fan.")

The Ol' AMPTP Mindf*ck™

Has anyone noticed a pattern in the last couple weeks' worth of negotiations?

Monday is energetic and everyone's buoyed by the residual anger from the way last week ended. Tuesday there's a sense that they're "really talking." But by Wednesday, there's a creeping sense that nothing good is actually happening.

And on Thursday, the companies do the AMPTP Mindf*ck™.

First, it was the New Economic Partnership. This week it's "we're going to take our marbles and go home. Which means you can't play because we own all the marbles."

The negotiating committee and the board came out to a full house at the Shrine Auditorium. They were met with a standing ovation. Standing ovations continued through the meeting as Verrone congratulated the membership on its efforts over the last three plus months. Bowman discussed what the nature of negotiations were like on the inside, where we started, and what we've gained. David Young went

An analysis by United Hollywood's Jeffrey Berman. -JA.

Two significant developments happened near the end of last week: The AMPTP agreed to come back to the negotiating table, and dozens of actors received letters of suspension due to force majeure, including the casts of 30 Rock, The Office and Rules of Engagement.

These two events couldn’t be more contradictory.

Force majeure literally means "greater force." It’s a clause in a contract that covers natural disasters or other "Acts of God.” Force majeure excuses a party from liability if some unforeseen event prevents it from performing its obligations under the contract.

Interesting things, facts. They are simply what they are. And yet sometimes you can read a lot into them.

Here's a fact:
On December 18, the Writer's Guild testified before the Los Angeles City Council about the economic impact of the strike.

Here's another fact:
The AMPTP didn't show up. [Gosh, just like at the negotiating table.]

Instead, they asked the MPAA to take care of it. The MPAA represents the AMPTP before all levels of government throughout the world. The MPAA also provides economic data and information on the motion picture and television business to the public.

And one more fact:

Statement from Chief Negotiator David Young and the WGA Negotiating Committee.

We have attempted to negotiate with the AMPTP companies since July. First they ignored our opening proposals. Then they told us we had to choose between their two horrible proposals. Then we removed DVDs from the table. Their response was to walk out of negotiations and tell the press that we were the ones who walked. Last week they presented us with another set of ultimatums. They didn’t even wait for a reply but broke off negotiations and walked out again.

There is a strategy at work here.

In any negotiation there are bottom line goals and “fringe” goals. The AMPTP wants to make the WGA reduce our demands to the bottom line so we’ll negotiate down from an acceptable deal to a bad deal If we do this, as we did with DVDs, you can be sure they would not hand us the deal we want. They would simply try to further wear us down.

(The following is a letter from the presidents.)

To Our Fellow Members:

Today, it is our pleasure to inform you that members of the Writers Guilds of America, East and West, have voted to ratify the MBA contract with 93.6% approval. With a total of 4,060 votes cast, the tally was 3,802 to 258. These numbers reaffirm the tremendous level of support and commitment our membership has continuously demonstrated over these last few crucial months.

We are also pleased to report that the trustees of our health fund voted yesterday to follow the recommendation in our strike settlement agreement to provide additional coverage and an extension of the earnings cycle for a full quarter (three months) to participants who would otherwise lose health coverage following an earnings cycle that included all or a portion of the strike period. Participants whose health coverage is paid for by points will only be charged points if they have ten or more points as of April 1, 2008.

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:

“The Writers Guild has reached a binding independent agreement today with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Night with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air with their full

Patric Verrone and Michael Winship just sent this message to the membership. The WGA is determined to stay at the table until we have a deal. If the AMPTP wants to negotiate in good faith, and end the strike, we are at the table.

Dear Fellow Members,

Before we head into negotiations this morning, we want to give you an update on where we stand.

(With all the best to Frank Pierson and thanks to Jon Avnet)

The latest AMPTP offer, Thursday's "groundbreaking" proposal, certainly wasn't what any of us hoped for. If we assume the AMPTP sincerely wants to end the strike, then everything they've done so far is counter-intuitive. Given the stakes, their behavior is crazy-making. Most members were shocked and demoralized that the offer was so inappropriate.

But when has anyone enjoyed a negotiation?

Personally, I hate negotiating. At first it feels good when I'm thinking about what I want. My mind's racing with the possibilities. But when the process starts and the first counter-offer comes in, I go through the seven stages of grief. If I want a deal that I can live with, I have to tough it out.

The California Democratic Party is officially on record as supporting the WGA's strike action. Stating in their resolution:

WHEREAS, the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has refused to recognize the legitimate claims of the approximately 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) to fair remuneration through residuals on the distribution of its members’ creative endeavors on any current distribution platforms and those yet to be developed, including the monitoring and enforcement thereof; and