WGA Issues: April 2006 Archives
Don’t get fooled again…A few months back, I wrote about the prospective peace deal being hammered about between the Writers Guild of Amerca, west and the Writers Guild of America East.
At that time, I felt that the deal wasn’t a bad one because at the very least, we’d finally get the WGAE to improve their membership standards, which are basically non-existent.
Here’s what’s happened since.
The membership standards thing never came to pass.
And even worse, new language was thrown in that now means that credit arbitrations involving WGAE writers can be administered by the WGAE. The problem with that?
Well, if you’re a first writer or a spec writer, you should know that the WGAE is slanted towards rewriters. Far more disconcerting however, is that they do not have a real Credits Department. They don’t have the staff, the don’t have the lawyers, they don’t have the experience.
Credits arbitration is extremely time-consuming, difficult, potentially litigious and always stressful. Our credits staff, which is nearly the size of the entire staff of the WGAE, barely keeps their heads above water…and now we’re going to outsource credit arbitrations to an organization with little to no experience or resources?
Folks, I believe in finding and making a good deal with the WGAE. I want peace. I just don’t want bad peace. This agreement was rushed to meet artificial deadlines. Important rights, like the right of any WGAw or WGAE member to choose the union to which they’d like to belong are scheduled for outright elimination.
It’s bad. Bad, bad, bad. Do NOT vote for this thing.
If you are a member in good standing of the WGAw and you’d like to support my efforts to defeat this very flawed scheme, consider lending your name to a statement written by a former Board member against the proposals. Here is the text. If you want to support it, simply email Barbara Ditlow at the WGAw and say, “I wish to add my name in support to Tim O’Donnell’s statement against the proposed changes to our constitution.”
You have until Wednesday to get your emails in. If you know other WGAw members, please alert them as well. If these poorly thought-out changes are approved, we are in for some very rough days.
