Soap Writers Cross WGA Line; CBSNews Writers Weigh Options

Authored by Scott Goldberg on November 13, 2007 - 7:59am.

Variety reports that “several” members of the Writers Guild of America who work for daytime soap operas plan to cross the picket line to keep their jobs. Citing people close to the matter, a “high-ranking writer-producer” for CBS’s The Young and the Restless has told the WGA he plans to give up Guild membership to write during the strike. Variety says another source believes two other writers for The Young and the Restless plan to do the same, as does a writer for NBC’s Days of Our Lives.

CBS News has also found itself squarely in the strike discussion over the last few days, and The Hollywood Reporter says the show is making a pitch to its writers. CBS News’s writers are expected to vote on whether to strike by Thursday, and according to The Huffington Post, they have been working under an expired contract since April of 2005.

It is estimated that the vote will impact the work of about 500 unionized members. CBS News said in a statement, "CBS News is prepared for the possibility of a writers strike. We will continue to produce quality news programming for our viewers.”

The Hollywood Reporter obtained a letter from CBS News to its writers yesterday which said, "The question now facing each bargaining unit member is whether the terms being offered are so onerous and unacceptable as to warrant participation in a strike and the loss of pay that participation in a strike entails. CBS does not want you to strike, and we hope that you will carefully evaluate the terms of our final offer against the uncertainty of a strike in determining what is best for you and your families."

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Other Strike News from DMW:
WGA Criticizes Ellen DeGeneres for Continuing her Show
NBC's 'The Office' Shut Down for Strike

Photo by NoHo Damon