The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merged with the Radio and Television Directors Guild in 1960 to become the modern Directors Guild of America.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) credit system for motion pictures and television programs covers all works under the jurisdiction of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW). The WGA, originally the Screen Writers Guild, has since 1941 been the final arbiter of who receives credit for writing a theatrical, television or new media motion picture written under its jurisdiction.
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of the cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media. Residuals are calculated and administered by industry trade unions like SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America. The word is typically used in the plural form.
The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, also known as The Animation Guild, or TAG is a professional guild and union of animation artists, writers and technicians. The full name of the organization is The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations/Canadian Labour Congress.
Patric Miller Verrone is an American television writer and labor leader. He served as a writer and producer for several animated television shows, most notably Futurama.
The WGA script registration service is a service run by both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) to establish the date of creation of literary property, typically a motion picture screenplay, useful in the often-contentious US entertainment field.
David A. Goodman is an American writer, producer, and president of the Writers Guild of America West. He has been a writer for several television series, such as The Golden Girls, his first job; Futurama, where he was also a co-executive producer and wrote the notable Star Trek parody episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"; and Star Trek: Enterprise. Goodman produced Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, and is the writer of Fred: The Movie, a 2010 film based on the Fred Figglehorn YouTube series, as well as the sequel, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred. In 2022 he wrote the critically-acclaimed film Honor Society for Paramount+.
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media.
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 members.
Katherine Fugate is an American film and television writer and producer.
The 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action that occurred from November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008. All 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike.
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike, which ran from March 7 to August 7, 1988, affected production on movies and TV shows. At 153 days, it remains the longest strike in the history of the WGA, surpassing the 1960 strike and the 2023 strike by 5 days.
The 1960 Writers Guild of America strike was a labor dispute between the Guild and the Alliance of Television Film Producers. It lasted 148 days, from January 16 to June 12, 1960.
The 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5, 2007, was a labor conflict that affected a large number of television shows that were due to be broadcast in the United States during the 2007–2008 television season. Negotiators for the striking writers reached a tentative agreement on February 8, 2008, and the boards of both guilds unanimously approved the deal on February 10, 2008. Striking writers voted on February 12, 2008, to end the strike immediately, and on February 26, the WGA announced that the contract had been ratified with a 93.6% approval among WGA members.
The 2007–2008 CBS News writers strike is a strike action by news writers working for the U.S.-based news broadcaster CBS News. The strike began on November 19, 2007. In addition to CBS News, CBS's locally owned and operated station news operations have been without a contract with the network since April 2005. While most news writers are members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, a labor union representing workers in the entertainment industry, CBS News and CBS-owned news station employees are represented by the Writers Guild of America. On November 19, 2007, employees voted to authorize strike action along with the rest of the guild. Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Bill Richardson said they would not cross picket lines for appearances on interview shows or a candidate debate.
Del Reisman was an American television producer, story editor and screenwriter whose lengthy credits included The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.
The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action that began on May 2, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. PDT and ended on September 27, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. PDT. At that time, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It was the longest interruption to American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the second longest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed since the strike of 1988, which lasted for 153 days. Along with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which continued after the writers' strike ended, it was part of a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes.
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike is an ongoing strike action that began on July 14, 2023. The American actors' union SAG-AFTRA went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Along with the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, which ended on September 27, 2023, it is part of a series of broader Hollywood labor disputes.
Since May 2, 2023, a series of ongoing labor disputes within the film and television industries of the United States has been taking place, mainly focused on the strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. It is the second time two Hollywood labor unions are striking simultaneously — the first having occurred in 1960 – and as such, the American news media has named this phenomenon the "Hollywood double strike," and is expected to surpass the 1960 dual strike as well.
