WGA East leader says strike could end Monday

By Georg Szalai

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The president of the Writers Guild of America, East, Michael Winship, said on Saturday that the tentative contract deal with major studios could bring the screenwriters strike to an end as early as Monday, but "not necessarily."

Winship spoke at an impromptu news conference outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel just before a WGA meeting where union leaders briefed rank-and-file members on terms of the agreement, which had been finalized hours earlier.

"I believe it's a good deal," he told reporters. "I will be recommending it to our membership."

The WGA West planned a similar informational meeting in Los Angeles for members there on Saturday night.

The union's negotiating committee will then decide whether to recommend the pact to the governing boards of the WGA West and East Coast branches. Those two bodies could sign off on the agreement Sunday and start the ratification process by the guild membership, Winship said.

Ratifying the contract itself under normal circumstances could take up to a month. But board members could decide to end the strike on their own, perhaps as quickly as when they meet on Sunday, by approving a back-to-work order.

If board members decide not to lift the strike before the members vote, the union could opt for an expedited ratification that would take anywhere from two to 10 days and potentially allow members to return to work by mid-week.

It's not a done deal, Winship said, "but it's pretty much done."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter