Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/704133
A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 I 3 On July 7, DGA President Paris Barclay announced that Director John LiBretto has been appointed Chairman of the Guild's Network Negotiating Committee which negotiates agreements on behalf of DGA members who primarily work in staff and freelance positions in news and sports. This will be LiBretto's second time serving as chairman, having also led the DGA's 2014 Network Negotiating Committee. "I'm pleased to announce that John will once again lead our Network Negotiations," said Barclay. "His decades of television news and sports experience – combined with his extensive involvement negotiating many prior agreements – will be a tremendous asset to the Guild when we renegotiate our network contracts." LiBretto will be joined by Director Brett Holey and Associate Director Scott Berger who will serve as Co-Chairs of the Committee. The National Board of Directors unanimously approved these appointments at its recent June meeting. The DGA announced earlier this year that Secretary-Treasurer Michael Apted and Third Vice President Thomas Schlamme will chair the Feature Film and Television Negotiating Committee. The DGA's current Network contracts expire on June 30, 2017. JOHN LIBRETTO – As an NBC Director for more than four decades, LiBretto began his long career with NBC in 1968. After service with the USAF in Vietnam, he returned to NBC and became an Associate Director, working on news, sports and soap operas. He then became a director for NBC Sports, directing all the major team sports, in addition to directing five Summer Olympics. In the mid-1980s, he became a director for NBC News, where he directed all of NBC's news programs, predominately Today and Dateline. LiBretto has received 5 Emmy Awards in News and Sports, and a Peabody Award for his work at NBC News. He is currently serving a second term as the Guild's 6th Vice President and has served for nearly two decades in various Guild offices including eight terms as an Alternate or member of the Eastern Directors Council. LiBretto chaired the 2014 Network Negotiating Committee, and was an active member of the 2005, 2008 and 2011 committees. BRETT HOLEY is Senior Director of NBC News. Holey directs breaking news, prime time and political programming and oversees directors, production and projects for network news. Previously he was director of NBC Nightly News for 18 years. Holey joined NBC after thirteen years with ABC News where he worked in a variety of producing and directing roles. Holey was Vice-Chair of the 2014 Network Negotiation Committee and serves on the DGA's Eastern Directors Council. SCOTT BERGER is an Associate Director on the CBS Evening News. Berger is the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of the DGA's National Board of Directors and has served 13 terms on the AD/SM/PA East Council. In addition, he has served on every DGA Network Negotiating Committee since the 1980s, including as Vice-Chair in the last two rounds of negotiations. DGA Appoints John Libretto to Head Network Staff Negotiations DGA Network Staff Negotiations Committee Chair John Libretto DGA and IATSE Applaud the Passage of H.R. 3636, the O-Visa Act On June 14, the DGA and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) – on behalf of our more than 140,000 members – joined together to applaud the passage of H.R. 3636, the Oversee Visa Integrity with Stakeholder Advisories (O-Visa) Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill's authors, Congresswoman Mimi Walters (R-CA) and Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), were thanked for their steadfast commitment to the legislation; House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Ranking Member John Conyers for their expertise and guidance; Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren for her unwavering support; and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for moving the legislation to its final passage. The bipartisan bill is an important step in providing a level of transparency that will help ensure the security and integrity of the USCIS-administered O-1B and O-2 visa program which admits foreign directors, members of the director's team, and craftspeople with extraordinary ability to temporarily work in the U.S on motion picture production. In recognition of the unique nature of the motion picture and television industry – when the O-visa program was first introduced, Congress established special requirements and evidentiary criteria for O-1B and O-2 visas. One requirement mandates that USCIS consult with appropriate private stakeholder organizations – including the DGA and IATSE as well as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – regarding the validity of visa applications. While the vast majority of those seeking O-1B and O-2 visas use the programs appropriately, for years we have expressed our concerns that the USCIS has been approving fraudulent applications that have not been subject to any review, and has refused to even notify these organizations when insufficient applications are approved over our valid objections – undermining the statutory mandate and preventing us from fulfilling our obligations to Congress in this very important area. By requiring the USCIS to give notice of a final visa ruling, these organizations will be better able to assist them in identifying fraud and abuse, as well as protecting national security.