WGA grants waiver for NAACP awards gala

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The striking Writers Guild of America West said Tuesday it will sign an interim agreement with the NAACP for its 39th NAACP Image Awards.

The event is scheduled to take place Feb. 14 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

The agreement means WGA writers will be allowed to script the awards show and striking writers will not picket the event.

"The NAACP would like to thank the leadership of the WGA and its members for demonstrating their support of the NAACP and its historic mission by granting the NAACP Image Awards an interim agreement," Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, said in a statement. "The NAACP stands in solidarity with the Writers Guild in its fight for meaningful collective bargaining and the rights of all workers to make an honest and fair living."

"The guild examines each request like this individually and no decision is easy. Our ultimate goal is to resolve this strike by achieving a good contract. Because of the historic role the NAACP has played in struggles like ours, we think this decision is appropriate to jointly achieve our goals," said WGA West President Patric M. Verrone.