Members of the Writers Guild have authorized their leaders to call a strike as early as November 1.
In mail balloting and at Thursday-night meetings on both coasts, members of the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West granted strike authority with 90.3 percent approval, representatives of the guilds said. About 5,500 of the roughly 12,000 writers covered by the unions’ contracts cast votes.
Given historically low turnout rates in guild elections, the tally was a strong show of support for the tough stance taken by guild negotiators in their discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Issues of contention include residuals from DVDs and payment for content used on the internet and mobile phones.