Downtowners down with WGA

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached an agreement with Castle Rock Television for a collective bargaining contract covering the writers of DOWNTOWNERS, an animated series premiering on the primetime WB line-up this fall. The dispute had initially begun when writers on the show were unhappy with the benefits of the union that was representing them, the IATSE Cartoonists Local 839. A key point in the agreement was recognition of the WGA as the exclusive bargaining representative of primetime animation writers employed by Castle Rock Television and Downtowners Productions. “I want to commend Castle Rock for its decision to sit down at the bargaining table with us, and I want to congratulate both Castle Rock and THE DOWNTOWNERS writers on this very satisfactory outcome. These writers will receive the full protection of the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement," said Daniel Petrie, Jr., President, WGAwest.