Posted on 11/12/2007 7:22:25 PM PST by LdSentinal
NEW YORK (AP) — About 500 unionized news writers could soon join their creative colleagues on the picket line.
The writers, employees of CBS News television and radio, are expected to overwhelmingly approve a strike authorization. Represented by Writers Guild of America East, the writers were scheduled to vote Thursday.
WGA drama and comedy writers are entering the second week of an entertainment industry strike that has shaken network and cable television, threatening popular shows such as Fox's "24" and sending late-night talk shows, such as Comedy Central's "Daily Show with Jon Stewart," into unplanned reruns.
The CBS News television and radio writers have been working under an expired contract since April 2005, WGA East spokeswoman Sherry Goldman said.
The strike authorization vote does not mean the writers — who work in New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago — will necessarily stage a work stoppage, but neither side seemed optimistic.
"CBS News is prepared for the possibility of a writers strike. We will continue to produce quality news programming for our viewers," CBS said in a statement. A spokeswoman said CBS News would not have any further comment.
Goldman said the parties have not been at the negotiating table since January after the union rejected what CBS at the time called its final offer in November 2006.
She said the employees balked at a wage package that would pay television and network radio workers a higher wage than local radio writers. The union also rejected CBS demands to assign nonunion staff certain writing duties currently reserved for union employees.
and the down side to this is??????.......
CBS news writers might go on strike? Do you mean that the news writers write fictional story lines just as their sitcom writing colleagues do????
Is Katie Couric unable to function without someone having written her a script?
Is it still a strike if no one is watching?
Good, less fake news the better.
Why am I not upset?
The Onion has more reliable news than CBS
Gee, the news people might have to go on camera without a script. Good question, what is the downside?
CBS made what they said was their “final offer” and the writers threatened to strike. Problem: neither side believes the other, and neither does anyone else.
If it weren’t for these news stories I’d never know there was a strike.
They’re striking in professional sympathy with Hollywood’s striking fictions writers.
‘nuff said.
CBS has a news department? That’s news to me...I thought they were an arm of the Clinton Broadcast Station.
The Liars Club has a union....
Who knew???
My thoughts exactly. Who knew CBS employed 'writers' like the kind you find in sitcoms and movies, to do the propaganda, er nightly news.
Continue?! How can they continue producing something they never produced in the first place?!
If this CBS writers' strike actually happens, it will be fascinating to see if the scab writers can't do a much better job than the old CBS writing hacks. They could scarely do worse.
Considering how the unionized work force at the Eye has done lately...scabs would be a step up, as far as I’m concerned.
Gee, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever consider myself pro-union....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.