New Year's Wish
Looking toward the new year we see our industry making a healthy comeback. While the first half of 2002 saw a precipitous drop in production days and members' earnings, the second half of the year has given us cause to be optimistic for the future. Feature film production is just now recovering from the slowdown caused by both the de facto WGA and SAG strikes of 2001 and the aftermath of 9-11. In addition, production and earnings levels are returning to where they were in 2000, and many industry forecasters believe that the upcoming year will see continued growth.
However, the outlook in one area is not as heartening. The New York Times recently reported that, "Health costs are spiraling into another year of double-digit increases. Patients, employers and government health programs are feeling the financial pain." Our Health Plan, too, has been adversely impacted by this national crisis. It is projected that our plan will have an $8 million deficit this year and a greater deficit next year. There are several reasons for this, chief among them being that the cost of health care has risen approximately 15% in each of the past three years. Add to this the fact that, like the national population, the DGA population is growing older and requiring more health care — and that it currently takes approximately $170,000 per year in earnings to pay for health care for a family of four, yet, to be eligible for DGA coverage, a member is required only to earn $28,000 per year — and it becomes obvious that our Health Plan cannot continue to provide the same level of benefits to DGA members that it has been.
As a Guild member — and as a parent — I know that the prospect of reduced health benefits is not a pleasant one for any of us, and one I wish we didn't have to face. But it would be wrong of me to soft-pedal the downgrading that will be necessary. You will soon be receiving a mailing informing you about upcoming "town hall" meetings for members in Los Angeles and New York on this topic.
In other areas:
New technology continues to make a tremendous impact on our work and lives in many ways. Fortunately, our Interim Settlement Agreement anticipated many of the creative and contractual results of digital production, and because of this, DGA members do not have to worry regardless of the medium a project is done on.
The fight we are engaged in against companies that edit films without legal authorization will set important copyright and intellectual property precedents, and it is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the impact of the digital world on our creative rights and future residuals (which account for 60% of our Pension Plan income). This impact will only continue to grow as technology becomes more and more advanced.
What we need this coming year is a healthy and prosperous entertainment industry. We need to continue to work with lawmakers in Washington to develop solutions to issues like runaway production, media consolidation, Internet piracy, copyright and other intellectual property issues, as well as keeping an eye on developing economic and job opportunities for all our members.
What we don't need is another industry slowdown or de facto strike. SAG will soon enter into its commercial negotiations, and the actors and writers could potentially begin basic agreement negotiations with the studios toward the end of next year. We express the hope that all sides of the business; studios, networks, guilds, unions and even government will work together not only to keep us working but to help create more jobs. I can assure you that the DGA will do its part to resolve issues, anticipate disputes and keep creating more opportunities for all of us to work.
-Martha Coolidge
DGA President
