Barring a last-minute deal with networks and studios, Hollywood writers likely will stage a work stoppage on Monday.
During a rally Thursday night at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the guild negotiating committee unanimously recommended a strike to about 3,000 members—the largest membership meeting in the guild’s history, according to the WGA.
The recommendation received overwhelming support in the room, with members lining up at microphones to express their support for the guild’s bargaining agenda.
Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg joined the negotiating committee onstage to voice his union’s support. SAG’s contract expires June 30, and the guild will enter contract talks next year.
The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers sent out a statement from president Nick Counter, saying networks and studios were still prepared to make a deal.
“By the WGA leadership’s actions at the bargaining table, we are not surprised by tonight’s recommendation,” he said. “We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend.”
Guild members in attendance Thursday included many high-profile series showrunners. At the start of the meeting, 300 picket captains received a standing ovation from the crowd. Afterwards, a lengthy line of members waited to sign up as captains.
From the stage, “The Shield” showrunner Shawn Ryan said he attended a Teamsters meeting, where he got a lesson in solidarity and was “blown away by their support.”
John Bowman, chair of the Writers Guild of America’s negotiating committee, declared he would not cross the picket lines, saying, “It’s a moral decision.”
This morning, WGA East president Michael Winship sent a letter to members detailing the meeting and pledging support for a strike.
“The members of the [AMPTP] are using fear and attempts at intimidation to maintain a status quo that makes no sense in a 21st-century world of rapidly expanding global markets and new media,” Mr. Winship wrote. “There is a fair and respectful deal to be made if only the studios and networks will drop their obstructive stance and bargain.”
Negotiations between the AMPTP and WGA fell apart Wednesday over a longtime point of conflict: how to split revenue from sales of shows on DVD and digital mediums.
“The AMPTP brought negotiations to a halt,” said the WGA in a statement. “[Wednesday] morning we presented the AMPTP with a comprehensive package of proposals that included movement on DVDs, new media and jurisdictional issues. We also took nine proposals off the table. The companies returned six hours later and said they would not respond to our package until we capitulated to their Internet demand.”