By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

While film and TV mogul Tyler Perry partied with a who's who of Black star power at the opening of his Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta this weekend, the Writers Guild Association sent an open letter to the creator of the infamous Madea character and the letter was signed by some of the most prominent show runners in Hollywood.

BV Buzz reported on Friday that the gospel playwright had come under fire for unfair labor practices and the WGA filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), claiming that Perry had four writers from 'House of Payne' (Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson and Lamont Ferrell) unlawfully fired because they wanted the union involved in their contract negotiations with Perry's company.

(Read 'Tyler Perry Protested: Man Behind Madea Accused Of Unfair Labor Practices' for details.)

Despite the shocking news about Perry terminating writers after refusing to pay minimum industry rates, health care, pension and residuals making headlines at the start of the weekend, the man behind 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' and 'Why Did I Get Married' hosted the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, Will Smith and Patti LaBelle at his new studio complex.

The 39-year-old New Orleans native, who has become one of modern Hollywood's most wealthiest moguls after allegedly being homeless and sleeping in his car, purchased 30 acres of land and a facility that once housed the Delta Air Lines' business center to open his multimillion-dollar TV and film studio.

While Perry celebrated his rags to riches story during the two-day complex opening, the WGA issued their open letter and the likes of Shonda Rhimes ('Grey's Anatomy'/'Private Practice'), Marc Cherry ('Desperate Housewives'), Tina Fey ('30 Rock'), Steve Peterman ('Hannah Montana'), Rene Balcer ('Law & Order'/'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'), Warren Hutcherson ('Everybody Hates Chris'/'The Bernie Mac Show') and 66 other show runners united to speak out against his actions.

This season, scripted television programming will consist of about 150 shows employing 1,200 writers.

Of that universe, 149 shows and 1,193 writers will produce shows covered by the Writers Guild's Minimum Basic Agreement. The MBA guarantees minimum compensation, residuals, health coverage, and pension in addition to other benefits.

The big exception? Tyler Perry's 'House of Payne" and the seven writers who, collectively, played a key role in producing over 100 episodes of one of television's most successful sitcoms.

Right now, these seven writers are in a struggle with you, the producer of 'House of Payne,' to extend Guild coverage to the show. This past Monday, after months of negotiations with the Guild, four of the writers were abruptly and illegally fired because of their efforts to secure the same minimums and benefits as their peers.

We all know that producing television is a tough and uncertain business. But some things are simply not acceptable.

We have a simple ask – reinstate the writers and make a fair deal with WGA.

Respectfully,

Rich Appel, 'The Cleveland Show'
Lee Aronsohn, 'Two & a Half Men'/'The Big Bang Theory'
Rene Balcer, 'Law & Order'/'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'
Alan Ball, 'True Blood'
Carol Barbee, 'Swingtown'
Carter Bays, 'How I Met Your Mother'
Ed Bernero, 'Criminal Minds'
Jenny Bicks, 'Men in Trees'/'Sex and the City'
John Bowman, 'Frank TV'/'Martin'/'In Living Color'
Shane Brennan, 'NCIS'
Marc Cherry, 'Desperate Housewives'
Alan Cohen, 'Held Up'
Elizabeth Craft, 'Dollhouse'
Bob Daily, 'Desperate Housewives'
Elias Davis, WGAW Secretary Treasurer
Gary Dontzig, 'Murphy Brown'/'Suddenly Susan'/'Becker'/'Hannah Montana'
Sarah Fain, 'Dollhouse'
Kevin Falls, 'Journeyman'
Michele Fazekas, 'Reaper'
Tina Fey, '30 Rock'
Larry Gelbart, 'M*A*S*H'
Mike Gibbons, 'Talk Show with Spike Feresten'
David A. Goodman, 'Family Guy'
Glenn Gordon Caron, 'Medium'/'Now and Again'/'Moonlighting'
John Gray, 'Ghost Whisperer'
Walon Green, 'Canterbury's Law'
Marc Guggenheim, 'Eli Stone'
Hart Hanson, 'Bones'
Warren Hutcherson, 'Everybody Hates Chris'/'The Bernie Mac Show'
Michael Jamin, 'Glenn Martin'
Al Jean, 'The Simpsons'
Mike Kelley, 'Swingtown'
Anne Kenney, 'Greek'
Bill Lawrence, 'Scrubs'/'Spin City'
Michael Leeson, 'Bill Engvall Show'/'The Cosby Show'
Steve Levitan, 'Just Shoot Me'
Chuck Lorre, 'Two and a Half Men'/'The Big Bang Theory'
Bill Martin, '3rd Rock from the Sun'/'Grounded for Life'
Chris McGuire, 'Mind of Mencia'
Carol Mendelsohn, 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'/ 'CSI: Miami'/'CSI: NY'
Ted Mulkerin, 'Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'
Peter Murietta, 'Wizards of Waverly Place'
Marti Noxon, 'Mad Men'/'Private Practice'
John Peaslee, 'Operating Instructions'
Steve Peterman, 'Hannah Montana'
Clyde Phillips, 'Dexter'
Judd Pillot, 'Operating Instructions'
Bill Prady, 'The Big Bang Theory'
Matt Pyken, 'Knight Rider'
Michael Rauch, 'Love Monkey'/'Beautiful People'/'Life is Wild'
Andrew Reich, 'Friends'
Shonda Rhimes, 'Grey's Anatomy'/'Private Practice'
Shawn Ryan, 'The Shield'/'The Unit'
David Sacks, 'Lewis Black's Root of All Evil'
Steve Skrovan, ''Til Death'
Mike Schiff, '3rd Rock from the Sun'/'Grounded for Life'
Robin Schiff, former WGAW Board Member
Gary Scott Thompson, 'Knight Rider'/'Las Vegas'
Chris Sheridan, 'Family Guy'
Amy Sherman-Palladino, 'Gilmore Girls'
David Simkins, 'Warehouse 13'/'The Dresden Files'/'The Book of Daniel'
Robert Singer, 'Supernatural'
Dan Sterling, 'The Sarah Silverman Program'
Matt Tarses, 'Worst Week'
Alison Taylor, 'Just Jordan'
Betsy Thomas, 'My Boys'
Eric Tuchman, 'Kyle XY'
Marc Warren, 'Cory in the House'
Michael Warren, 'Happy Days'/'Family Matters'/'Hanging with Mr. Cooper'
Matthew Weiner, 'Mad Men'
Dan Wilcox, 'M*A*S*H'/'Newhart'/'Growing Pains'/WGAW Board Member
Larry Wilmore, former WGAW Board Member, 'The Bernie Mac Show'