Clinton Refuses To Cross CBS Picket Line For Dem Debate

[Karmadillo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/21/exclusive-clinton-refuse_n_73713.html

Exclusive: Clinton Refuses To Cross Picket Line For Dem Debate

Senator Hillary Clinton, D-NY, announced today that she will forgo CBS News' upcoming presidential debate unless the network can reach a resolution with its striking employees.

"The workers at CBS News have been without a contract for close to two and a half years," the Senator said. "It is my hope that both sides will reach an agreement that results in a secure contract for the workers at CBS News but let me be clear: I will honor the picket line if the workers at CBS News decide to strike."

In issuing the statement Clinton becomes the first Democratic candidate to publicly state her refusal to cross the picket line. Others have expressed solidarity with the strikers.

The Writers Guild of America began striking more than three weeks ago, after negotiations on a new contract for the unions 12,000 members hit an impasse. The WGA is seeking a percentage of the retail price of movies and television episodes downloaded on Internet; something to which the studios have yet to agree.

CBS News is slated to host their first Democratic debate on December 10, in the station's Los Angeles studios. Last week, however, more than three-fourths of CBS News' 300 employees (writers, desk assistants, and assignment editors, mostly) voted to authorize a strike - in the same vein as the WGA. Employees at the news station have been without a contract since April 2, 2005 and have scheduled a negotiating committee to meet on the situation following the Thanksgiving break.

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