WGA West President Patric M. Verrone was on The Thom Hartmann Show on Air America this afternoon speaking about the late night talk shows and the strike. Jay Leno, who is a guild member, writes his own monologues. The WGA argues that in so doing, Leno is violating his contract. NBC issued the following statement in defense of Leno: ''"The WGA agreement permits Jay Leno to write his own monologue for 'The Tonight Show.' The WGA is not permitted to implement rules that conflict with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the studios and the WGA.''

Veronne told Hartmann on his Air America this afternoon, ''Jay is a longtime member of the guild and we've known him a long time and it's clear to us that (writing his monologue) is a violation of the rule. There are strike rules and we're going to have to enforce them against him.''

This being Air America, the conversation veered from the strike -- now going into its ninth week -- onto the subject of labor unions and the good old days of President Roosevelt. ''Sometimes it does seem like the days of Teddy Roosevelt,'' concluded Verrone, ''but right now we're looking for more of the sort of deals that we got with David Letterman.''

(image via kansascitystar via Paul Drinkwater/NBC)