STRIKE ZONE: LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
TORONTO — Leaders of international writers guilds meeting in Montreal are lending their support to the WGA strike.
“Their fight is our fight,” Writers Guild of Canada president Rebecca Schechter said in a joint statement released as the annual International Affiliation of Writers Guilds’ meeting wrapped Thursday.
Schechter echoed fellow guild leaders in arguing that WGA members should get their fair share of new media, DVD and Internet royalties from the major networks and studios.
“The future of our industry is shifting toward new media,” Writers Guild of Great Britain chair Katharine Way said. “Writers have always had to fight for a small share of the revenues generated from their work and this case is no different.”
Audrey O’Reilly, chair of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild, added that “no self-respecting screenwriter in any country will undermine the U.S. strike.”
And Tim Pyre, president of the Australian Writers Guild, urged the major U.S. networks and studios to return “without delay” to the bargaining table to negotiate with WGA representatives.
The WGA East and WGA West are members of the IAWG.
