Candidate for Council, Film/TV/Streaming Sector
It’s been an honor to serve on the Council this last year.
If you re-elect me, I will continue to fight for better pay and benefits. I started my writing career as a novelist. I know what it is like to be a working writer with no protections. Because of the hard work of previous leadership, I have a pension and excellent health care. I will work to ensure those benefits are not eroded.
For me the non-writing producer encroachment in television remains an immediate problem. In the twenty years I have been working in television, there has been a significant shift away from the writer-producer model. Nonunion hires are taking jobs that belong to Guild writers. We need to address this problem through contract negotiations but also internally. I will push showrunners to step up and fight for these jobs. Our members should be on set and involved through the postproduction process. This is especially true for our newer and younger members. This is how we keep our Guild strong for the future.
I have been working on the West Coast for much of the last year and have had more than two dozen in person meetings with producers, studios, showrunners, and networks, and in all of those meetings I stress the importance of our members involvement in the entire process of making television from prep all the way through post. I always point out what should be obvious – that having writers embedded in the process is not just good for our union – it is good for their business. Fighting to keep us out is just not smart.
I have been happy to support our very effective leadership in council votes regarding everything from to the lawsuit against the Paramount merger to the contract of our very effective executive director
In this next term, I will continue to educate myself about the realities presented by Artificial Intelligence, which is an existential threat to every one of us. To think that the corporations that fight us every time we want to improve our jobs will hesitate to replace us all with machines – is foolish. The more we know about this threat, the better we will be able to protect ourselves.
I have been a trade unionist since joining the Laborer’s International Union at 19. I have seen the difference between union and non-union working conditions in several industries. Our Guild gave me protections I never had when I started out as a writer. If re-elected, I will continue to fight to make sure every member is assured same security and dignity.
Endorsements
Jamie Chan, Larry Cohen, Nicole Conlan, Lisa Cullen, Sara David, Kevin Deiboldt, Elizabeth Godvik, Liz Hynes, Tom Kemnitz, Jr, Brian Koppelman, Sarah Montana, Frank Pugliese, William Scheft Jr, Scott Smith, Nick Snyder, Sasha Stewart, Suzanne Weber, Adam Wiesen
Endorse Thomas Kelly for Council, Film/TV/Streaming Sector
Note: WGAW members who wish to endorse a candidate may follow the process outlined in section G.1.B of the 2026 Election Policy.
