November 3, 1997
The Directors Guild of America has adopted a policy calling for a finite twelve-hour shooting day, DGA President Jack Shea announced today. The policy, based on a report from the DGA Safety Committee, was agreed upon by the DGA National Board at its quarterly meeting in New York this past Saturday.
"It is time that our industry formally recognizes the safety hazards caused by cast and crew repeatedly working eighteen-hour or twenty-hour days," Shea said. "The practice of working excessive hours is abusive, but more to the point, it is life-threatening."
According to Shea, the next step taken by the DGA will be to convene a meeting with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Announcers (AFTRA) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) to explore the possibility of jointly approaching the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The AMPTP has in the past been amenable to discussion of excessively long working days, Shea said, adding that he is hopeful that a resolution of this issue could be brought about relatively swiftly.
The following is the text of the statement adopted by the DGA National Board:
For more than one hundred years, entertainment companies have employed casts and crews to produce products for the world's enjoyment. We comprise the third largest industry in California, an industry that receives billions of dollars annually from shows that we have helped create. We are proud to contribute our efforts to this industry, but not at the risk of health and safety.
Over the past decades we have worked increasingly longer shoot days. Today, we are seeing many work days more than sixteen to eighteen hours, often in succession. These hours are abusive and inhumane. They represent potential health and safety risks.
We, the members of the Directors Guild, oppose the industry practice of working excessive hours. We think it is time to re-examine our priorities and change what has, unfortunately, become the industry norm.
We propose that the motion picture and television industry adopt a finite twelve-hour shooting day, defined as twelve hours from general crew call to camera wrap, excluding lunch. We believe we can effect a working arrangement that respects the director's creative rights and does not diminish his or her authority on the picture. We recognize that the safety of the cast and crew members is always the primary concern.
We urge our fellow Guilds and Unions to join with us in calling for change.
In the Fifties, negotiations resulted in the elimination of the sixth day in the studio work week. Studio heads said that it would kill the business. It did not. We are again compelled to act for reasonable and just working conditions. We do not believe that working reasonable hours will kill this multi-billion-dollar industry. We believe that productions will function more efficiently and safely with better rested casts and crews. We believe that it will improve the quality of our lives and those of our families. We hope, ultimately, that working reasonable hours will save lives.