The union for striking Hollywood screenwriters said on Tuesday
it has decided to spare next month's Grammy Awards from picketing
that could dampen the recording industry's highest honors.
The announcement by the Writers Guild of America marked a
surprise reversal from the union's previous stance that it would
probably picket the Grammys show, which is scheduled for a live
telecast on February 10 from the Staples Center in downtown Los
Angeles.
No reason was given for the union decision, which came in a vote
by the Writers Guild's board of directors, according to a union
spokesman.
Writers Guild has been using the threat of picketing of major
entertainment awards to draw attention to its cause and to press
the major film and TV studios to renew negotiations aimed at
settling the union's 11-week-old strike.
While the Grammys largely consist of musical performances and
winners taking the stage to give acceptance speeches, much of the
introductory remarks and banter by presenters are normally prepared
in advance by union writers.
While the Writers Guild has yet to grant a special waiver of
strike rules barring its members from working on the show,
Tuesday's decision clears the way for the Grammys to go on without
the spectacle of stars having to cross picket lines.
A number of high-profile Grammy nominees this year, including
Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Alicia Keys, also are members of the
WGA's sister union for TV and movie performers, the Screen Actors
Guild.
It was the threat of an awards boycott by SAG members that
derailed the Golden Globe Awards, forcing organizers to scrap their
traditional gala event in favor of a bare-bones news conference to
announce winners.
The threat of WGA picketing still hangs over the film industry's
most prestigious honors, the Oscars, whose organizers vow to go on
with some form of their ceremony as scheduled on February 24.
Union leaders are expected to open informal discussions with
studio executives this week in a bid to pave the way for official
bargaining to resume following deal reached last week between the
studios and Hollywood directors.
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(CRI/Agencies January 23, 2008)