So, I gotta vent a little. There's a bunch of threads on Twitter about writers, writing rooms, staffing, the WGA and so on, and it got me to thinking...
I've been a Teamster for 30 years, so I understand (somewhat) unions: what they're supposed to do, what they actually do, the union/company tensions, collective bargaining, etc.
What does the WGA do? They represent writers, right? But to become a member, you have to earn 24 credits in a WGA jurisdiction. That's a shit ton of work completed on union jobs - BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN JOIN THE UNION! Anybody see the Catch-22 here? You have to work on several union jobs as a non-union writer (which many prodcos won't even hire in the first place) before you can be a member!
WTF WGA!
To join the Teamsters, all you gotta do is pay your dues and work in a union shop. Period.
Let's take it into the film biz.
The DGA reps, directors, ADs, UPMs - even PAs! And joining pretty much means working on a union project and paying your dues (there's some other quals, but that's the meat of it)
SAG reps actors in every medium, at every level. Just 3 days as a background, and pay your dues - and you're a member.
WGA: beyond the 24 credits thing (look at the points list - you pretty much have to strike gold on a spec script to earn a fraction of what's needed), they DON'T rep anyone else in the writers' room - WPAs, Assistants, Coordinators, no one!
WTF WGA!
What a weak-ass and elitist organization. Why would anyone want to join? I don't.
Okay, I'm through now...
1 person likes this
You'd think with the sheer volume of aspiring writers out there they'd be happy to take dues from spec writers who may never need their services. Just show them you've written 1-2 scripts to an industry-standard (be it tv or film) and "welcome, cash or credit?". It seems weird that, seemingly, the biggest group has the most hoops to jump through.
2 people like this
It's 24 UNITS in 3-year period, NOT 24 CREDITS. If you are employed to write a screenplay THAT equals 24 UNITS right there. There are other ways to join if you've earned less than 24 UNITS in a 3-year span. Check it out here: https://www.wga.org/contracts/contracts/other-contracts/how-to-join-wgaw-through-lba
3 people like this
it's harder to join the Teamsters truckers union than it is to join WGA. My guy here had 0 Hollywood connections and he connected with a manager & big time agency, sold a spec to a Studio and got his Union card in one year's time.
You join any union for current living wages, healthcare, pension, residuals, prestige, power, influence.
There are collective bargaining agreement laws and also conflicts of interest if the WGA were to open membership to aspiring writers but not represent actual "paid working writers".
I remember either reading about it or maybe it was a WGA podcast about it but I can't remember where.
A high barrier ro entry maintains value in a brand. Imagine a union full of aspiring amateurs willing to take any deal to get a foot in the door.
After reading these posts, I was tempted to defend what I said, but, then, why? It was a rant, an opinion - to which everyone is entitled. I do apologize for the errors in fact (Sam Borowski I did mean Units, not Credits). Some find value in the WGA - I do not. :)
2 people like this
To join WGA you have to sell 1 feature length script to a signatory company (and pay initiation fee). That's it. You have to be employed by a union shop for 1 screenplay. 1.
1 person likes this
You are only entitled to an educated opinion.
What I don't understand and never will, is why their script registration expires in five years. For an organization that is supposed to protect and support writers, that practice is a profit ploy at best, and it dubiously leaves writers vulnerable. - Since it almost always takes more than five years for a script to go from freshly written to fully produced.
Copyright is attached the minute you type something. Not when you register something with someone. Registering it with an organisation, such as WGA, Library of Congress or Australian Copyright Office is just a away of putting in a date.
Expecting some to store your stuff forever is a but much. The first registration would act as such a pin.
Right. And that makes it even worse. So why even offer "registration"? Copyrights are much better - especially now that the laws are changing dramatically. (I'm aware of the theoretical protection offered by merely completing a work. But we all know that theory and practice are not the same. I've watched others learn this the painful way, btw.)
Now add to that the fact that the WGA isn't talking to members of the ATA and you've got a ridiculous situation for a new writer. Even if your script is liked by an agency, then what? You still can't join unless it's one of the 2 mid sized agencies that signed the code.
1 person likes this
Some people like to build in the most ideal reflective standards including extreme obstacles otherwise they wouldn't have the power to be reflective.
Duh.
No disrespect intended.
If you can't think of avenues to remove the obstacles then you are not inclusive.
This is not elitist but think about how you'd feel with scabs in your union.
By the way there is not a damn thing wrong with being non-union either.
Mr. George Lucas is a great example.
Different people build in different ways. A union is not elite among builders they are reflective perhaps wanting the ideal.
Independents may in fact be ideal too and are in no way scabs.
That's my perspective anyway.
Keep bitching and consider your own best avenue with conscious of what you want to achieve.
2 people like this
You don't need an agency to join WGA. All you need is a Buyer willing to pay union wages and follow their labor rules.
Jean Buschmann copyright at created not in theory, legally. You don’t need to register it. That just makes it easier to protect. It is not like a patent, where things are considered public domain unless registered. Sit is the complete opposite.
2 people like this
Well Craig, I'll defer to legal minds far more knowledgeable about these matters than either of us. All of whom concur that what seems simple in theory is not necessarily so, in practice. (See just a few examples linked below.) Suffice to say that real trumps theoretical. I wish it weren't so, my friend. And in a perfect world, it wouldn't be. I don't advocate living in fear, so I'm not suggesting that new writers should be parazlyzed by paranoia, but they should enter this field with their eyes open. Especially since many might not initially realize (like you and I do) that it's only "the unique telling" of a story that is ever protected to begin with. Besides that though, this issue is way bigger than screenplays, especially for anyone who works in digital content production (including and especially YouTube Channel Hosts). With recent changes to the EU's copyright directive, it's more important than ever to be clear about what is protected and what is not.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonsands/2018/12/30/why-copyright-will-be...
https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/11/17843664/copyright-directive-europian-...
https://info.legalzoom.com/proving-violation-copyright-21241.html
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/copyright-infringement-how-damag...
https://www.theiplawblog.com/2007/02/articles/copyright-law/the-complexi...
https://abovethelaw.com/2018/03/wrecking-ball-why-proving-copyright-infr...
https://creativescreenwriting.com/can-copyright-infringement-occur-can/
Like all things. You must be willing to defend it. My friend has a copy of Steven Jobs signature. It is on a letter telling my friend to stop selling tech that infringed on Apples work.
This was when Apple was no one and my friend was working from his bedroom.
I didn’t read any of your links. I am sure they are informative. But if you registered a screenplay once with the WGA that would
prove it’s existence. Therefore be the beginning of your defence of your copyright.
But you have to be willing to defend it. You have to be willing to sue people, in a jurisdiction you have protections in.
That's ironic coming from Steve. And I mean no dis, I actually knew him and worked at Apple when he returned in 1998. But it behooves anyone truly interested in this topic to look at those links. Since it's not cut and dry. The other issue is that many creators opt to just let it go rather than battle it out in court and get either blacklisted or labeled "sour grapes." Espeically since those articles you didn't read make it very clear that it's almost impossible to prove your case legally. Okay, that's all I want to say about this issue. Cheers!
1 person likes this
John! Heck teenage kids can shoot and edit a full feature on an iphone anymore. This whole we own the mountain crap is not going to stand much longer. Distribution is the question. If you are fortunate enough to get it produced, where can you sell it? New Avenues are opening up every day. All these companies with subscription services will need huge amounts of material to feed the hungry beast. Run a Kick Start campaign and hire a local crew. That's the future. Self made! Of course I don't take my own advice so... take this with a grain (or mountain) of salt. LOL! Good luck to you my brother!
Michael A. Barone That's exactly what we're doing with our webseries, "No Tomorrow"!
Excellent! Best of luck to you brother!
1 person likes this
Jean Buschmann it was clones of the Apple 2e, back in 1983 I think. I was a few years out of high school at the time. It was a form letter attached to a threat from their external legal people. They took a few people to court. My friend dodged that.
2 people like this
As much as I appreciated the marketing and industrial desgn genius of Apple (thanks to Jobs and Jony Ives), anyone who is being honest has to admit that the company is no stranger to controversy, or the the claims that they were "inspired" by many a small software fish swimming by. Thus, the irony. ;) And of course, now, in this modern era, there's the unfortunate "net" solution to catching the suicidal factory workers in China, who attempt to take their lives in mass, due to low pay, repetitive motion injuries, and overwork. But shhh, no one wants to talk about that. Sad.