WGA & AMPTP Leadership Reach Accord

The leadership of The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Pictures & Television Producers (AMPTP) have overcome some of the major hurtles that have separated them for nearly four months and came to an agreement early today.

The proposed 3-year contract will now go before the 12,000 members of the Guild for final approval. If approved tomorrow, all of the striking writers will be off the picket lines, many returning to work as early as Monday.

A spokesperson for the WGA stated that this deal is fair and gives writers a good cut of new media revenues.

“It is an agreement that protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery,” the guild said in an e-mail sent out to all its membership. “We believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike.”

As early as last week, most of the WGA members and studio/network heads have been preparing for the return of staff members back to their desks, expecting this morning’s negotiations to be fruitful.

Not all members are pleased with the compromises made in order to end the walkout. The more hardlined within the Guild say they expect this contract to fall short of their original demands but are willing to wait and see what is actually contained in the proposed agreement before making a final decision on an up or down vote.

One of the items proposed especially has them upset. The 17- to 24-day window that would allow studios to stream shows on advertising-supported websites without compensating writers could be one hurtle some of the members find difficult to jump.

Most of the writers appear to be pretty content with the deal, but their true state of acceptance will be measured this Sunday when the agreement comes before a vote before all the membership.

“The strike is still on,” Sherry Goldman, a spokeswoman for the WGA East, said on Friday. “Should the strike eventually be lifted, we will cancel the picket.”