On November 15, nearly 60 new DGA members of all categories attended an informal cocktail reception in the Los Angeles headquarters atrium where they received vital information about the inner workings of the Guild.
The orientation began with a screening of Director Michael Stevens’ DGA 75th Anniversary film DGA Moments in Time, Part 2: Doubling Down, which describes a crucial incident in early Guild history in a story narrated by Director Martin Scorsese. Then DGA Fifth Vice-President Lesli Linka Glatter welcomed the attendees.
“Becoming a Guild member is a very special career milestone… it certainly was for me” said Glatter. “I remember how exciting it was to finally get that card. Back then we didn’t have an orientation, so I really didn’t know much about what it meant to be a Guild member. Over time, I came to discover what a great organization I belonged to… how over the decades, directors and their teams had pioneered a path of collective action to achieve rights that individuals could never achieve on their own. That’s why we’re here tonight – to introduce you to the DGA, the greatest partner you’ll ever have. The goal is that you leave tonight with the information you need to successfully navigate your career in our industry as an active member of the Guild.”
Glatter then gave a basic primer on the history and structure of the Guild and spoke about its primary mission of protecting the economic, legal and artistic rights of the membership as well as insuring their creative freedom. She then turned things over to DGA Associate National Executive Director/Western Executive Director Daniel Bush who covered the subjects of the DGA contracts and the governance of the Guild.
Bush detailed some of the benefits of being a DGA member, gave an overview of how the contracts work to protect the membership and spoke about key membership responsibilities. Bush also touched on some of the services available through Guild membership such as the DGA-Producer Pension and Health Plans and spoke about the importance of supporting the DGA PAC in its ongoing battle for the rights of DGA members through thoughtful legislation at all levels of government. He also introduced the attending DGA Field Reps and explained how they work with the Contracts Department to ensure that members are being protected by adherence to the collective bargaining agreements.
The evening then transformed into a cocktail reception where the attending new members could mingle with their peers, meet Guild staff and have their questions addressed in the informal setting.