WGAW spells out goals to members
Mailings seek approval of strategic goals
The referendum package contains not only the text of the seven goals but proposed changes to the employment contract of executive director Brian Walton. There are also statements from a majority of board members who favor resolution on the new goals and the minority that opposes them.
The goals include:
- Improving residuals, primarily foreign and basic-cable residuals for free-TV product;
- Making meaningful advances in writers' creative rights and professional status;
- Combating the problems of free rewrites and late payments through new enforcement programs that would not require a writer to contact the guild for help;
- Ensuring that the guild's staff serves as an advocate and representative of writers in a customer-friendly service organization;
- Pursuing discussions with WGA East about greater unity and cooperation, uniform voting practices, proportional representation and equal service to all guild members;
- Continuing the guild's legislative agenda for writers' economic and creative rights and expanding the WGAW's efforts to publicize the primacy of writers in the film, television and new media fields; and
- Strengthening the guild's alliances in the U.S. and overseas with other groups of artists, agents and legal representatives.
The issue of residuals is still being negotiated despite approval of a new contract with producers. The talks, undertaken by the guild's Contract Adjustment Committee, are to conclude in May 2000. Writers' creative rights and status issues are being handled by the Committees on the Professional Status of Writers.
To deal with the problem of obligatory free rewrites and the enormous issue of late payments, the guild has promised to step up enforcement under new working rules that would target the industry on a company-by-company basis. The WGAW has established a member services department and a late payments coordinator position.
Regarding Walton, the guild plans to modify his current contract to change his notice period, or option pickup date, from October 1999 to October 2000. The guild will also change the effective date of his early contract termination from May 2000 to May 2001. The changes would not extend the overall length of the exec director's contract.
Completed ballots are due at the American Arbitration Assn. by 5 p.m. July 28.
