East is East: In New York, WGA Members Support Leaders

By Steven Zeitchik

Big crowds, (mostly good) vibes and Michael Moore were among the things characterizing the scene at the WGA's Crowne Plaza confab in Manhattan Saturday afternoon. Nearly 600 WGA East members -- TV writers on NY-based shows like "Cashmere Mafia" and "Late Night with David Letterman" and film vets like Moore and Terry George -- packed into the hotel's Broadway Act II ballrooom for nearly three hours.

Our full report here, so we'll just say here that the rank-and-file were mostly supportive, and from indications at the meeting, a full membership vote could happen by mid-week, with the strike being lifted either Monday or immediately after the vote.

At the meeting, George reportedly gave a well-received speech about labor-relations in this country and the fight against management, citing how the proposed agreement reversed a trend of rollbacks that began with Ronald Reagan's fight against the air-traffic controllers union in 1981.

While none who attended would describe the reaction as a loud, unanimous chorus, worries over a backlash about the speed with which the draft deal was made didn't materialize, and there was enough head-nodding and general agreement that WGAE president Michael Winship said he felt encouraged to recommend the deal to the WGA board on Sunday.

Letterman writer Bill Scheft had the most telling line upon exiting the room: "I expected to be bleeding. I'm not bleeding."

The discussion over residuals did get a little technical, leading to a trickle of writers exiting throughout the meeting, until the crowds poured out at about 5 p.m. Hotel security was clearly caught a little flat-footed by the crowds of celebrity-seekers outside the hotel and the packs of notebook-carrying reporters inside it.

Of course, as fellow blogger Ray Richmond notes over at Past Deadline, it's not over till it's over - or at least until everyone at the Shrine gets a chance to sing. So more later.