The Writers Guild of America filed arbitration claims against Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, alleging two daytime soap operas kept replacement writers hired during the union’s 100-day strike, Bloomberg News reports.
“All My Children” and “Days of Our Lives” failed to rehire writers who joined the walkout, violating a Feb. 11 agreement, the guild’s New York chapter said today in an e- mailed statement.
The union also seeks arbitration with Corday Productions, producer of the soaps. Film and TV members of the WGA went on strike Nov. 5 seeking pay for material shown on the Internet. When the strike ended, Hollywood studios and broadcasters agreed to rehire writers whose shows hadn’t been canceled or whose jobs hadn’t been eliminated, the union said, citing the accord. Disney and Corday have 10 days to respond.
“ABC and Corday Productions are clearly violating this agreement,” Ira Cure, senior counsel for the Writers Guild of America, East, said in the statement. “They have left us no other option but to file arbitrations.”
