The dozen writers on "America’s Next Top Model" may walk off the show as early as today. The scribes have threatened the job action after the fledgling network denied their request for representation by the Writers Guild of America West. The guild staged a protest Wednesday with about 25 demonstrators outside the production offices of Anisa Prods. and 10×10 Entertainment in Los Angeles and have planned another protest today. WGA spokesman Gabe Scott said all the "Model" scribes have signed authorization cards to be represented by the guild. In response, the CW and exec producer Ken Mok have told the WGA that it should ask the Natl. Labor Relations Board to conduct the election — a process that would probably take at least a year to complete. A CW spokesman had no comment Thursday about a possible strike but exec producer Ken Mok said in a statement, "We have advised the WGA that we feel the process established under the Natl. Labor Relations Act is the appropriate process to be followed if employees wish to be represented by a union. The process permits an impartial government agency, the Natl. Labor Relations Board, to conduct a secret ballot election so that all affected employees have an individual right to express their preference as to whether or not they want to elect a union." "We once again ask that the WGA follow the procedures provided by law," Mok added. "If, after doing so, the NLRB decides that the WGA is the exclusive representative of our employees, we would be happy to sit down and negotiate with them."
Varitey
