Intro

As I have written here before,  it is often difficult to accept  
evidence of what the Guild has done in secret  because of
what we know to be the Guild’s history.  But what if much
of  that history is in an invention?

In 1953,  the same year as the secret waiver,  which mirrors
the secret foreign levy agreement,  the Writers Guild
negotiated with  the companies an amendment to Article 6
of  our collectively bargained Minimum Basic Agreement.

After 1960,  the Credits Escape Clause appears to have
morphed into Screen Credits Manual  III.L.

There are writers who served on the Screen Credits Committee
during the time the Credits Escape Clause was in force who
still sit  on that committee today as members of the panel
at pre-arbitration hearings and policy review boards.

 

Credits Escape Clause


  If a writer,  at  the  time of his employment or at any time thereafter,  states in
  writing that he is not and never was a member of  the Communist  Party,  and
  such  representation  is  shown  to  have been  false,  or  if a writer  at any time
  refuses on request of  a Producer  to  make a statement as to whether  he  is or
  ever was a member of  the  Communist  Party,  or if a writer before the House
  Un-American Activities Committee  or  any  similarly  duly  constituted  Con-
  gressional or State Legislative or executive committee, has refused to testify as
  to whether  he  is  or  was  a member of  the Communist  Party,  or  if  a writer
  having been subpoenaed to appear before such a committee fails or  refuses  to
  appear  in response to  such  subpoena,  the  Producer  shall  be relieved  of  its
  obligations to the Guild under this Article 6,   and shall also be relieved of  any
  obligations to accord credit  to the  writer  under  his  employment agreement.

 

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