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Books by Louis Reyes Rivera
Sanchocho: A Book of Nuyorican Poetry /
Scattered
Scripture /
Bum Rush the Page
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Support the WGA Strike
New York, Nov. 12, 2007 – The New York Chapter of the
National Writers Union (NWU Local 1981 UAW) calls
upon its members to support and join the picket lines of
the Writers Guild of America (WGA). As well, we urge all
artists and creative cultural workers across the board
to join us in solidarity with the WGA.
The U.S. Constitution originally provided for the
establishment of a federal copyright and patent office
(Article 6, Section 2) that would record (and in
recording, protect) claims of origination regarding the
intellectual and creative property of its citizens .
This specific inclusion into the Constitution was not an
afterthought (as was the Bill of Rights), but an
integral part of this nation's founding principles,
however flawed.
This factor is at the very heart of the current strike
called for by Writers Guild of America (WGA, East and
West). The strike, now entering its second week,
essentially boils down to this – that writers should
receive minimum compensation (residuals, royalties, et
al) whenever and however their original material is used
and/or adapted into other forms of media beyond the one
for which they were initially commissioned to create (be
it play, screenplay, television script, short story,
novel, article, essay, poem, etc.).
In creating any written work, every writer must
consider how best to protect his/her interests in the
process of negotiating (a) exclusive ownership of the
copyright for the given work, (b) the limited leasing of
its inherent production rights (i.e., he dissemination
of the given work), and, (c) the manner in which all
subsidiary rights are to be shared between the creator
and the producer.
Subsidiary rights include every imaginable manner in
which the work is adapted from its original format or
genre into other mediums. That's always been a key
component to published books being translated or adapted
to stage and screen, as it has for musical compositions
being performed, recorded and sold (say, from the
initial live engagement to a 78rpm record to a 33 vinyl
-- and today, to a re-released CD, DVD, iPOD, YouTube,
etc.). At every point, writers must protect their right
to compensatory payments for their works and in relation
to new markets. Thus, not only must writers protect
themselves when negotiating for an adequate advance, but
as well for corresponding payments as royalty and
residual. That's exactly why the NWU was founded. That's
why we
include Contract Advisement as a mainstay.
Today, we
see corporate producers engaging new technologies in
order to repackage and resell a given work (book, song,
performance, television episode, film, etc.). Their
monetary returns are inestimable. And yet, the creator
of the work is not being paid a rightful share of that
surplus income. That's what's at issue here. Those who
create the work must be equitably compensated. It was
their sweat, their creativity that led to
the marketability and the profiteering of that work.
Because we believe that all workers are due their
hire, the NY Chapter of the National Writers Union
stands in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America
in its efforts to reassert that which was long ago
intended into law— the right to claim ownership over our
respective work and, by extension, to be justly
compensated for its use and reuse. We urge our members
to join the picket lines by logging on to
http://www.wgaeast.org/ for daily updates on
picket sites and to join the NWU national letter
campaign to all print and blogsite venues. We further
urge all creative workers across the board to enjoin the
WGA at this most crucial juncture in our history. All of
our potential income is at stake here.
Interested parties should note that WGA picket lines for
Tuesday, November 13, 2007, will set up at the northeast
corner of State Street and Bowling Green, in Manhattan's
Battery Park, from 10am to 2pm, inclusive.
In Solidarity
Louis Reyes Rivera
Chair, New York Chapter, National Writers Union
Louisreyesrivera@aol.com
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posted 16 November 2007 |
