This just in — We have learned that the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents 12000 writers and 3000 staff has agree to resume talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP).
Both sides issued a joint statement late last night stating that they would sit across the table from one another and resume negotiations on Monday, November 26.
However, don’t expect a lot of news to come out of the conference room because both sides have agreed to a news blackout.
“Leaders from the AMPTP and the WGA have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26,” the official statement said. “No other details or press statements will be issued.”
“This announcement is a direct result of your efforts,” Patric Verrone, WGA West President said in a statement to the Guild’s members. “For 12 days I have repeated that a powerful strike means a short strike. …Now it is equally important that we now prove that good news won’t slow us down, either. We must remember that returning to the bargaining table is only a start. Our work is not done until we achieve a good contract and that is by no means assured. Accordingly, what we achieve in negotiations will be a direct result of how successfully we can keep up our determination and resolve.”
“For true negotiations to take place, there has to be some expectation that a deal can be made, but by their past actions and their current rhetoric that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case,” Nick Counter, AMPTP President said in his most recent statement on Wednesday. Counter was unavailable this morning for comment about the resumption of talks.
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