My union, a little unconvincingly, also staked a claim for writers to be involved on the set so their scripts won't be tinkered with by directors and stars. And pigs will fly, too. Lack of respect for writers was built into the very first basic Guild agreement in l942. Unlike plays and novels, a screenplay, once sold, belongs to the buyer not to the author. Give me the money, and minimum courtesy, and you can shove respect.
Writers do their best work when they are least respectable.
When they are, in fact, schmucks with typewriters. Writers should be cautious of getting above themselves. We are worker-craftsmen and women, no less, no more. The fact is, hitherto, the Guild has never won anything important, including its pension plan and superb health benefits, without a strike. Last year's actors' walkout educated a lot of normally apolitical or conservative union members.