The Directors Guild Agreement Would Never Have Been Achieved Without The Writers Strike

(First part of a thread started by me on the Internet Movie Database Message Boards, on Friday, January 18, 2008, arguing that the Directors Guild agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers would never have been reached without the leverage of the Writers Strike)

First, this agreement was not reached in 6 days. The DGA had been having informal talks with the producers' body, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, long before the formal negotiations began, as they always do.

Second, and most importantly, there is absolutely no way that the DGA would have achieved this deal without the leverage provided to them by the Writers Guild strike - and the incredible support of the Screen Actors Guild to the writers.

Whether the WGA and SAG accept this deal - or something like it - is up to their leaders' and memberships' analysis of the terms of the deal, but it was the sacrifices of the writers - and all those who have lost their jobs, or suffered economically - that achieved this agreement.

I am sorry for all the fans who missed the Golden Globes or their favorite TV shows, but every critical protection for writers, actors, directors and other creative personnel in television and movies - and by this, I mean healthcare, pensions and even the concept of residuals or royalties - was won by the guilds striking in the past. The studios and networks would never have given us any of those basic rights (and we are the ones who provide them with the product they sell) without the courageous writers and actors who struck in the past. (The directors struck once, but only for five minutes.)

As a writer, I thank the WGA for my family's healthcare and pension. I thank the studios for work, but I believe strongly that a fair society includes protection for its workers, not just payment.