For some time now, the west coast and east coast divisions of the Writers Guild of America have been engaged in a spat that got waaaay nastier in public than it should have. I explained it to the best of my questionable ability in this post.
I'm delighted to say that it's over. As announced in this letter (CAUTION: PDF file), the two branches have arrived at a settlement that — at first glance — looks to me like they split things pretty much down the middle. This is good news, as the combined WGA faces challenges and battles far too serious for us to spend time whacking each other over the head. With little in the way of inside info, I'm going to leap to a conclusion here. It's that this settlement was made possible because of a turnover in the leadership of both branches since it started.
So now the WGA can devote more of its efforts to organizing in new areas and bracing for what promises to be a nasty negotiation in 2007. Alas, there will still be internal squabbling to sap our strength. There always seems to be some faction within the WGA that is angry about something, usually an alleged (and on rare occasions, valid) breach of our constitution. The fights are always way more vicious and personal than is practical, and they waste a lot of energy and bile that is better directed towards those who are raking in zillions on DVDs while insisting that "times are tough" and writers need to accept lower compensation. Let's battle them, people. Not each other.