2019 Candidate Statements

2019 Candidates for Officer Positions 

BEAU WILLIMON, Candidate for President

Dear Members,

It has been my honor to serve you as president for the past two years. I am looking forward to serving you during the next term and tackling the important work our Guild is undertaking. While I am running unopposed, I’m still asking for your vote. I’m also asking you to vote for the following slate of candidates. We share a vision on what the priorities of the Guild should be. We’re running together so we can address those priorities. I am proud to be included on this slate, offer all of these candidates my full support, and hope you’ll consider doing the same.

UNITY SLATE 

Freelance:
Bonnie Datt
Josh Gondelman
Dru Johnston
Courtney Simon
David Simon
Amy Sohn

Officers:

Beau Willimon (President)
Kathy McGee (Vice President)
Bob Schneider (Secretary Treasurer)

OUR PLATFORM

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news. Our priorities over the next two years:

• UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.
• DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan. Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

ENDORSEMENTS

Our Unity Slate Endorsements include members from all sectors of the Guild:

Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

AS YOUR PRESIDENT:

I’m passionate about our Guild. I joined just before the 2007 strike. I was thrilled to be part of a community of writers and to finally feel like my career was beginning. But I was also scared about the prospect of not being able to work while we walked the picket lines. What I witnessed during that strike was a strength and camaraderie that mitigated my fears and made me even prouder to belong to a union in which thousands of story-tellers were willing to stand up for each other even when – especially when – it’s difficult.

As someone who has been active politically for years, it has been one of my greatest privileges to serve my fellow writers as both a council member and president. I feel like the impact we can make together really affects people’s lives – from protecting emerging writers to securing good health care to improving diversity. Because writers have an impact on culture, the progress we make as a guild not only benefits ourselves, but has an impact on our industry as a whole, the larger labor movement and the world beyond.

When I was first encouraged to run for Council, I leapt at the opportunity. I was lucky to serve alongside experienced Council members (many of them on the Unity Slate and among our endorsers) who helped me understand everything our Guild was capable of achieving. I found robust debate, a willingness to think outside the box, and a reverence for the important task we all assume when we get elected – to faithfully represent you. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far and eager to build upon our progress.

Over the past two years we have seen great strides in organizing and diversity, as mentioned above. There remains much to be done on both fronts, and I will work hard with our elected council and staff to build on our successes.

I have worked closely with Council, staff, captains and the leadership of the WGAW to help conduct our current collective action as strongly and smoothly as possible, while also being mindful that we need to address the concerns of those who have felt disruption. I will continue to support our struggle and promote ways for us to help each other. The tools and networks we are creating now will serve us long after this struggle is over.

Last year we created a mechanism to provide more thorough oversight on our Health and Pension Fund Trustees. After numerous discussions with Council, I drafted a resolution for an appointed committee to do formal reviews of our Trustees in a rotating fashion every two years. Council passed the resolution and the first review is already underway.

I have traveled to Chicago, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles to meet with members who reside there. While most of our members live in New York, not all of us do. It’s important that members who live in other states have as much access to leadership as possible. I will travel to D.C., Chicago, L.A. and beyond during the next term to stay engaged with those members and look for ways to increase the number of events and resources they have available to them.

Later this year we will begin preparing for the upcoming 2020 MBA negotiations. I was part of the negotiating committee that secured important gains during the 2017 MBA. I will bring that experience to the table in nominating our members of the negotiating committee and contributing to discussions on substance and strategy. I will also oversee – along with Council and staff – meaningful outreach in the months to come to ensure we are pursuing the issues that are important to you.

I have spoken to many of you in person, over the phone, or via email during the past two years. I welcome the opportunity to be in direct touch with everyone I can. I am always available to hear your thoughts, concerns and suggestions – whatever they may be – and encourage you to reach out to me whenever you like. Hearing from you helps me do the best job in representing you.

Please vote and encourage all your WGAE friends and colleagues to do so. I again ask for your vote, and for you to vote for the candidates on the Unity Slate above. Thank you.

In Solidarity,

Beau Willimon

KATHY MCGEE, Candidate for Vice President

A Vice Presidential Candidate for Unity

2014 was a defining moment for me when I was elected to the Writers Guild of America, East Council.  Today, I ask for your vote for Vice President.  I also ask that you vote for members of the Unity slate.  I’ve chosen to be part of this group of WGAE members because of their commitment, passion and record of advancing and supporting writers.

Freelance:
Bonnie Datt
Josh Gondelman
Dru Johnston
Courtney Simon
David Simon
Amy Sohn

Officers:
Beau Willimon (President)
Kathy McGee (Vice President)
Bob Schneider (Secretary-Treasurer) 

UNITY SLATE PLATFORM

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news.

Our priorities over the next two years:

• UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.
• DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the news and digital sectors now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff Council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan. Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

The Unity Slate endorsements include:

Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Francine Volpe, John Walsh, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Julia Young, Steve Young

As a member of the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, I work closely with a team of writers committed to making our union stronger.  It is important work as we strive to give more writers opportunities.  We need more voices, more participation and a determination to empower ALL members.  Since joining the WGAE in 1997, I have successfully encouraged my colleagues to get involved and seek leadership roles.  As a shop leader at WCBS-TV, I have worked with the negotiating committee for four contracts.

As a result of these accomplishments, I have earned the individual endorsements of Kathleen Clancy, Dan Elias and Danielle Parker.

In unity and solidarity,

Kathy McGee

PHILIP PILATO, Candidate for Vice President

Endorsed by: Chris Albers, Walter Bernstein, Sue Brown, Tim Carvell, Terry George, Jack Conceicao, Elliott Kalan, Jim Maloney, Kyle McMorrow, and Bernardo Ruiz.

When I was first elected as a WGAE Council member in 2007, we were in a crisis.  We had just started the strike that would re-define the entertainment industry.  Now we are in another battle to reshape the industry and the stakes for writers couldn’t be higher.

There were those against the path that we ultimately took then – a strike – and now, there are those that oppose the current path that the WGA is taking against agents.  Those opposed were wrong then and they’re wrong now.

The biggest gain writers achieved from the strike was getting the studios to open their books to us – so that writers could find out how much a movie or show really made and demand fair compensation based on that knowledge.

Similarly, the fight against agents is a battle to get them to be fair and open with writers. Because they refuse to open their books to us – we really don’t know how much they’re making off of writers’ work.  Of course, there’s the small fact that getting a kickback for doing your job is illegal.  And when the agents try to appease us by offering to share a fraction of that kickback with us – it doesn’t make it anymore legal.

That’s why writers have to stand firm and fight for the agents to work for us – not themselves.

As for my fellow News writers, it’s been a while since a news member has been an officer – and boy, do we need one now. With a commander-in-chief who says that you are the “enemy of the people”, it is vital to have a strong news voice in the Guild’s leadership to push back.

We work hard to get stories right, and sure we make mistakes, but at least we admit them and make corrections – unlike the current administration.  We’re professionals and are entitled to decent pay and benefits.

The current administration is also not a friend of labor – making changes that would affect every member of the Writers Guild, changes in labor law enforcement, net neutrality and health care.

Those are things we as a Guild must fight – so we don’t lose what we’ve already achieved.

I care deeply for working writers.  I’ve been a member of the Diversity Committee, the News Committee, the National Council, the Executive Committee, worked on rewriting the Guild’s constitution, as well as volunteering at the annual awards.

Therefore, I ask you to allow me to continue to serve you – the members of the Guild – by voting for me for Vice-President.  After all, it’s members who run the Guild and members who are the Guild.

BOB SCHNEIDER, Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer

I’m happy to be included on the Unity Slate, which is committed to continuing to support and promote the Guild’s priorities over the next two years.

I enthusiastically support—

Beau Willimon for President,

Kathy McGee for Vice-President,

Freelance

Bonnie Datt
Amy Sohn
Courtney Simon
David Simon
Josh Gondelman
Dru Johnston

If elected we will keep seeking your input and listening to what you say through emails and membership meetings.

We will make every effort to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources and to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

We have a record of fostering diversity in our membership and in the industry. Members of our slate have been working to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and have helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program, with funding from New York City, to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. And many of the contracts Lowell and his staff have negotiated in the digital news sector have diversity clauses built in.

We are a kiss away from ensuring labor security for our members covered by what will soon be six major contracts in the nonfiction sector of our industry. And our organizing department has been absolutely killing it in the digital news world, where in just the past two years we’ve welcomed a thousand members into our guild. We endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan for staff council seats—their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

We have moved collectively to end the conflicted practices of the agents whose job is first and foremost to serve our best interests, and the solidarity we’ve shown over the course of this slow-moving freedom train has been inspiring. A Guild united cannot be defeated.

Vote for the Unity Slate and we will finish what we’ve started along with supporting and expanding the priorities that the leadership and membership of this guild have chosen over the past dozen years.

Our Unity Slate endorsements include writers from all sectors of the Guild:  Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

2019 Candidates for Freelance Seats

MELISSA LONDON HILFERS

Who I am

In 2013, after years of writing every day, shamelessly sending scripts to anyone who would read them, I sold a spec feature and joined the WGAE. Today I’m working on a reboot of JAGGED EDGE at Sony starring Halle Berry and an original drama, UNFIT, at Amazon starring Dakota Johnson. I’ve sold four spec features. I have projects at places like Black Bear, Fox and Bad Robot. I’ve also worked on amazing films at various studios with ridiculous talent attached that will never get made. A few TV shows that met untimely ends, too. Which is to say, I’ve made enough headway in the business to understand the immediate challenges we face, but I remember vividly how hard it was to make that first sale. And the second. And the third. I’m proud to be a working, always-hustling writer.

Before I started writing professionally, I was a litigator at one of the nation’s top firms (Cravath, Swaine & Moore). I’m also a mother of three kids and a mini schnauzer.

Since joining the Guild, I’ve been a contract captain for the 2017 MBA negotiations, a vocal member of the Diversity Committee, a reader for the 2016 Made in New York Writers Room program, and a host of the WGAE women’s salon. I regularly attend member meetings and ask tough questions when necessary.

Why I’m running

I’m committed to making sure writers at all stages of their careers feel informed, heard and equally represented, and that members who might be uncomfortable speaking at large meetings have outlets to express themselves. I also feel strongly that as professionals whose tools are words and ideas, we must always respectfully welcome the views of all members.

Between now and the crucial 2020 AMPTP negotiations, membership must be educated on the relevant issues (such as emerging paradigm shifts in TV compensation which could eliminate back end), plan ahead for all potential outcomes and, perhaps most importantly, remain unified. To this end, the Guild must communicate directly and transparently so that members fully understand the nuanced ramifications of any vote.

Regarding the present action, I believe we’re in an important and morally just fight. I also believe that with 2020 on the horizon, it’s crucial for leadership to weigh the costs and benefits to membership of all possible resolutions, and to continue to make concerted efforts to assess and act upon the will of the membership. It is my top priority to ensure members’ voices are heard, no matter how diverse and varied those voices are.

As a feature writer, it matters to me that we are adequately represented on the Council, especially going into next year. Having been appropriately supportive in current and past actions in which TV was the primary focus, feature writers deserve the concerns we face (such as free rewrites, one-step deals, abuses of the pitching process) to be part of the strategic calculus going forward.

Finally, I’m committed to advocating for more jobs in New York. I want to help the push for incentives to attract more writers’ rooms, and I’d like to see expansion of our excellent showrunner training program so that more of those positions go to our members. It could also be valuable to explore including members who come to television from diverse professional backgrounds and may not have access to the typical writers’ room path in that program.

Why you should vote for me
I will work hard to represent the voices of all writers, at all levels. As a former attorney, I’ll use my legal and negotiation training to help craft Guild strategy. I will show up, I will listen, I will ask questions. I will do everything I can to ensure a stable and prosperous future for us and for generations of writers to come.

Endorsements: Sharbari Ahmed · Stuart Blumberg · Kyle Bradstreet · Lisa Takeuchi Cullen · Gary Graham · John Hamburg · Jim Hart · Susan Kim · Brian Koppelman · Christopher Kyle · Michael Rauch · Lara Shapiro · Susanna Styron · Jennifer Vanderbes · Donal Ward · Sharr White · David Wiener · Elisa Zuritsky

ANDY RHEINGOLD

Hi. I’m Andy Rheingold. I have not served on the WGAE council previously, so if you’re looking for a representative with a fresh perspective, a diversity of experience, and not tied to any particular slate — I’m your candidate.

One of the things I love about the WGAE is how, under one giant roof, all kinds of writers are represented from television, feature film, soap opera, late night comedy, to documentary and news. Though we all write for a living, in the professional and business arena we are not always the same. I feel I am well positioned to serve on the WGAE council because I have seen and experienced a uniquely wide range of our business. I’ve penned: television films, feature films (for majors and independents), sketch comedy, animation, episodic and serialized shows for broadcast/cable/streamers, international co-production series, commercials, videogames, web series, and even storylines for wrestling. I’ve developed shows that hit the zeitgeist (SpongeBob SquarePants) and written pilots no one has ever seen. I’ve signed overall deals, been on staff, written freelance, and run shows. I’ve been a member of the WGAE for two decades and served as a co-chair of the Animation Caucus, judged scripts for the WGA Diversity Fellowship. I’m also a member of ASCAP, Writer’s Guild of Canada, and the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques.

Working in the global film and TV market has opened up my eyes. Our industry is not just 500 TV shows, but in reality that number is closer to 10,000 if you include productions around the world. This is the future! The WGA needs a big seat at the table which will mean working closer with other global brother and sister unions.

Healthcare solvency is still a prime motivator for me. As the healthcare industry fractures under the current administration in the White House, now more than ever WGA needs to step in and bring in as many writers it can under its umbrella. WGAE has taken the lead in organizing New Media, podcast, and news and entertainment websites. I think there are inroads we can make with animation on the east coast and would like to lead the fight.

On the issue of the day– I 100% support the WGA and our collective action demanding stronger and more transparent representation by agents. Packaging harms writers plain and simple. Agents acting as producers is untenable and illegal. But make no mistake, our struggle for fairness and wage security won’t end with the deal we make with the ATA. Negotiations with the AMPTP are right around the corner and the WGA will need to stay strong and united.

In Solidarity,

Andy Rheingold

ANYA EPSTEIN

Joint Statement with Bash Doran and Tracey Scott Wilson
Endorsed by Michelle Ashford, Kyle Bradstreet, Josh Brand, Brad Desch, Joel Fields, Liz Flahive, Tom Fontana, Danny Futterman, Rodrigo Garcia, Alex Gibney, Bryan Goluboff, David Henry Hwang, Courtney Kemp, Steven Levenson, Amy Lippman, Carly Mensch, Becky Mode, Phyllis Nagy, Frank Pugliese, Adam Rapp, Lara Shapiro, Blair Singer, Vanessa Taylor, Liz Tuccillo, Joe Weisberg, David Wiener and Stu Zicherman.

Between us we have showrun, staffed, developed, written, polished and made features, community organized, mentored though the Made-in-NY program, kick-started initiatives through the guild and diversity committee to combat racial and sexual harassment in writers’ rooms. We are outsiders (a black lesbian, a white straight woman, a white lesbian) and insiders (showrunners).  We are running because we are passionately committed to serving the guild and its members during what we expect to be a tumultuous two years.

At this critical moment — when we all are pushing for much-needed change in our relationship with the agencies — we believe there must be room for diversity at the table: diversity of gender, diversity of race and diversity of opinions. We have increasing concerns over the way the conflict with the ATA is being managed. We have no desire for a return to the status quo. We believe the ATA must make tremendous adjustments in the way they structure and do business. We also believe that the acknowledgement — and inclusion — of questioning and challenging voices will be key toward retaining solidarity and guiding this action toward a more thoughtful resolution. Going forward, we aim to ensure more open communication between members and leadership, greater transparency at every turn, protection for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters and most of all — the articulation of a clear, achievable vision for the future that will benefit all writers. These values will also guide us through the upcoming and critical MBA negotiations.

Additionally, we are committed to the following actions over our two-year term:

• HEALTH INSURANCE. The number one thing members love about our guild is our outstanding health insurance. We will take responsibility for making sure the fund stays resilient no matter what legal battles lay before us. And if we find ourselves on strike in 2020 we will spearhead a campaign to ensure members in danger of losing their insurance are protected.
• FIGHT FOR THE SCREENWRITERS! The guild is dominated by television writers and their concerns. We are committed to making sure the guild fosters a culture of engaging with screenwriters as individuals and as a community. We will facilitate a monthly screenwriter meet-up in the first year to air views and take it from there.
• RACIAL AND GENDER INCLUSION. (Duh.)
• SHOWRUNNER RESPONSIBILITIES. Showrunners are union-members of course but they are also management. The guild is outstanding at fighting for what we need from the outside world but we can also do better from within our own ranks. Right now – diversity, pay, room-culture are issues over which showrunners have a degree of control. We are committed to structuring a conversation around ways showrunners can better support their staff.
• PRO-ACTIVE SUPPORT FOR WRITERS SEEKING WORK DURING ATA-WGA CONFLICT. Whilst we would have concerns about the guild becoming the only agent for writers long-term (per the Teamsters) we do very much support and seek to amplify ways to help non-represented writers find work during this painful time. As showrunners we are deeply aware of the limitations of the portal submission system and appreciate the frustrations of both those seeking to submit and those seeking to hire. We have put forward one meaningful proposal to the guild which we are now working with staff to implement: Scene of the Day will be a daily blast of one scene to be sent to all guild members, facilitating exposure and the possibility of future work. We have other nascent ideas in mind and are looking forward to an ongoing dialogue with members to hear what their ideas are towards this end.

GINA GIONFRIDDO

ENDORSEMENTS:

I am proud to be endorsed by Chris Albers, Neena Beber, Brooke Berman, Kyle Bradstreet, Richard Dresser, Tom Fontana, Jerome Hairston, A.M. Homes, Rolin Jones, Susan Kim, Melissa Salmons, Lara Shapiro, and Sarah Treem.

GUILD SERVICE:

I served four terms on the Writers Guild of America, East council, from 2006 through 2013 and I served as a strike captain during the 2007-2008 strike.  Additionally, I have traveled with the guild to lobby in Albany for the diversity tax credit for writers in New York State and I served as a mentor when the Writers’ Guild Initiative teamed with The Wounded Warrior Project to run writing workshops with caregivers of wounded vets.  I stepped down my guild service when my daughter was born in 2011, but I am eager to jump back in now, for a number of reasons, the run-up to the 2020 AMPTP negotiations being the biggest one.

STATEMENT:

I earn my living as a TV writer and I came to TV writing from the theatre.  I’ve been a writer-for-hire on several unproduced features, but mostly I write episodic drama.  I want to state at the outset, however, that I am running to serve our entire membership.  When I served on the council previously, I was diligent about educating myself on the issues of news writers and digital media writers.  I commit to doing that again.  In a time when journalists are under attack as never before, I want to help our guild fight for them.  In summary, I am running to serve all members, not just those whose interests align with my own.

To address the elephant in the room, I think this will be a more volatile election than I’ve experienced previously because we are in the trenches with the WGA’s negotiation with the Association of Talent Agencies (ATA).   I am not aligned with any slate of candidates because I find myself a conflicted, middle-of-the-road thinker about this action.   To be clear, I voted in favor of the action (imposing a code of conduct on the talent agencies) and I left my film/TV agents as the guild required me to do.  More importantly, I am philosophically and ethically in agreement with this fight.   I believe that agency packaging and affiliate producing are practices rife with abuse that our union absolutely needs to address.   And I don’t believe packaging is just a rich show runner’s problem; I believe it impacts writers at all levels.

But I’m conflicted.

My reservations are not about the rightness of the action, but rather about the lack of transparency with which the battle has been waged and about how inequitably this burden is being borne within our membership.   Unlike a “pencils down” strike action, this is an action that asks for great sacrifice from one segment of our membership while stressing a big chunk of our membership not at all.   To ask for union solidarity in the face of that is a much bigger challenge than we’ve adequately acknowledged.   I’m worried about heading into 2020 AMPTP negotiations with part of our membership spiritually and financially depleted.

I also think membership deserves a less cryptic conversation with leadership about revenue sharing as an option to reform packaging.  Are we open to it or not?  I don’t know if revenue share is a viable solution, but I feel we’ve received very mixed messages about this and the resulting confusion is sowing discontent in our ranks.  I’d also like to have a more frank conversation about the expense we will incur fighting the lawsuits this action has spawned.   What are some ballpark numbers and where will the money come from?

But do my concerns mean that I advocate a change of course?  No.  Not yet.

This is an action the vast majority of our membership voted for.  If elected, I will see my goal as a council member as representing the will of the membership.  Now, we may need a different kind of survey than we’ve yet done to determine precisely what the will of the membership is, but my suspicion is that the majority of our membership does not want to retreat and capitulate at this time.

I am running for council mainly because I want us to head into 2020 MBA negotiations in a strong position.  Retreating from this action now does not put us in a strong position.  There’s been a lot of talk about what the discovery phase of our lawsuit against the agencies might reveal (to our advantage) and I would like more information about that.  The incredibly frustrating paradox of an action like this is that it angers members to feel that they are in the dark about strategy, but it (arguably) weakens our negotiating power to reveal too much.  I believe there’s a better middle ground to be found, however—more transparency than we’ve been afforded to this point.

And I want to attack the problem of serving the part of our membership that’s feeling pain from this action.   Obviously, it’s too soon to tell how the strategies implemented to help members secure employment without their agents have worked.  I’m interested in gathering good data on that and in brainstorming new strategies.  I think we have to be honest about the fact that gatekeepers (in this case, agents) perform a necessary function and it may be too utopian a goal to think we can unseat one set of gatekeepers without empowering another.  I don’t know what the solutions are here, but I want to work very hard on figuring them out.

I’m also running because I believe salary stagnation in our union is real and I want to address its multiple causes as we gear up for this 2020 negotiation.  In addition to packaging, I would want to focus on short season orders and long employment spans in TV and vanishing residuals in the streaming age.   Additionally, in the feature arena, I would want to address the ongoing problems of free rewrites and late payments.  In all of this, I want to engage with the idea that income inequality is a piece of the problem, the possibility that, just as we’re seeing in our national economy, wealth is consolidating at the highest levels of our profession while lower to mid-level writer salaries stagnate.

I hope you will cast a vote for me.   I hope that you will see my thinking about the ATA action as nuanced rather than wishy-washy.   This action is vastly more complex to navigate than a strike against our employers.  I have to be honest about that complexity and commit only to hearing your voices and acting on your will as well as bringing to bear my 15 years in television and 7 years serving on the council.

I support our current WGAE president and council members and I would be honored to serve alongside any of them.   It is my personal belief that the WGAW has seized the lead in this action with the ATA and that they do an inadequate job of communicating and consulting with their east coast brothers and sisters.  This is unsurprising, historically, and I’m not sure how much power we have to change it.  Bottom line, their membership is a lot bigger.   All I can promise is to advocate for our east coast membership—constantly and loudly.   It is my perception that our current council is already doing that, but I will use my voice to make the chorus louder.

I am proud of the relationships with guild staff and leadership that I’ve formed over the years and I think I’m in a good position and a good headspace from which to serve you.

WRITING CREDITS:

I am currently a Co-Executive Producer on the drama, FBI: Most Wanted, which will begin airing on CBS in January.   I have written for the network TV shows Law & Order; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Law & Order: True Crime; and Cold Case.  In the cable arena, I have written for House of Cards (Netflix); The Alienist and its forthcoming sequel The Angel of Darkness (TNT); and Borgia (Canal Plus).  I have developed and written two films for HBO and a pilot for CBS.  As a playwright, I am a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for my plays Becky Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn.

BONNIE DATT

2019 Candidate for Council, Freelance

I’ve served on the WGAE Council for the last four terms, working hard to protect writers’ rights and welfare. I’m also the Chair of the Awards Committee and the Co-chair of the Animation Caucus. These positions, along with my extensive involvement in organizing, have afforded me continuous opportunities to be of service to my fellow members. Now, with the MBA negotiations ahead of us and the issues with the agencies continuing, I believe that one of the best things that I can do to help protect the future of our Guild is to run for reelection on the Unity Slate with the group of candidates who I think offer the best possible leadership for our union going forward.

UNITY SLATE MEMBERS

The Unity Slate is made up of Freelance Candidates Bonnie Datt (me), Josh Gondelman, Dru Johnston, Courtney Simon, David Simon and Amy Sohn, plus Presidential candidate Beau Willimon, Vice Presidential Candidate Kathy McGee and candidate for Secretary-Treasurer Bob Schneider. These dedicated members will provide the positive, strong leadership our Guild needs.

OUR PLATFORM

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news. Our priorities over the next two years:

• UNITY– Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non-fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over a 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.
• DIVERSITY– We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan. Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts

ENDORSEMENTS

Our Unity Slate endorsements include writers from all sectors of the Guild:  Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

My personal endorsements include: Chris Albers, Fred Armisen, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, Tom Fontana, David Handelman, Susan Kim and Christopher Kyle.

MY PHILOSOPHY AND EXPERIENCE

I believe it is crucial for writers to be represented by a strong Guild, which is why I’ve dedicated so much time to serving the Writers Guild. In this constantly changing media landscape, the WGAE must continuously protect and improve upon the rights of the writers we represent in television, film, news and digital platforms, making sure that studios, networks and agencies can’t succeed in eroding any of the progress we’ve already made. When Guild-sponsored studies show that our members are making less money than they did a few years ago, it’s important for us to examine why and work to find ways to correct it.

But for the Guild to survive and thrive, it is also vital that we organize new writers. The more segments of the industry we represent, the better it is for all writers and the more clout we’ll have negotiating for every one of our members. So for the past fourteen years I’ve worked with the WGAE’s organizing department to try and expand the Guild’s coverage in the areas of scripted new media, non-fiction, basic cable, independent film, animation and digital news. We haven’t been successful in every sphere yet, but in some, like non-fiction, scripted new media and digital news, we’ve helped expand the Guild’s reach to new frontiers, giving much needed protection to writers who’ve never benefited from it before, while simultaneously making the Guild itself stronger.

During my time on Council my Guild involvement has expanded beyond organizing. I’ve taken part in multiple WGAE lobbying trips to Washington, DC and Albany to promote national fair labor practices for freelance writers and the extension of the state’s production tax credit to diverse writers in New York. I’ve been a WGAE Delegate to two New York State AFL-CIO Conventions and was one of a group of representatives who met with AFL- CIO President Richard Trumka to strategize about our non-fiction organizing campaigns. I attended sessions of an International Affiliation of Writers Guilds to learn how our sister unions around the world attempt to combat the economic issues that we all face. I was also a Contract Captain during the last MBA negotiations and I am currently a Captain for the AMBA coordinated action, and have attended every agency-related membership meeting so that I could hear the concerns of our members.

In 2012 I helped restart the long dormant Animation Caucus and I became one of its co-chairs. Since then we more than doubled the number of active caucus members from the group’s earlier incarnation. We set up career development roundtables and encouraged cross-membership with the WGAE’s Digital Caucus, of which I’m also a member.

I’ve also worked as a producer and writer on every WGAE Awards show since 2009. In 2012, I became the first female chair of the Awards Committee, a position I continue to hold. Over the years, I’ve worked with the Guild’s staff, the show’s other producers and the rest of the committee’s members to dramatically lower the awards’ net-costs, while continuously striving to produce a show that’s entertaining, diverse and relevant.

Like many WGAE members, my writing background is varied. I started as a standup and have done punch-up on pilots and sitcoms for ABC, Disney and Paramount. I’ve written for cable shows on the USA and Oxygen networks, and children’s shows for PBS and Disney—including co-creating a pilot for the Disney Channel. I’ve also worked as a story producer in nonfiction. In the world of new media, I co-created an animated short and was a regular contributor to the digital news site Racked for five years. Due to my varied resume, I’ve learned firsthand the multiple ways which writers suffer without Guild representation. These experiences directly inspire my dedication to WGAE organizing.

If reelected, I promise to continue building on my history of devoted WGAE service, working with members and staff to try to protect the rights of all my fellow members.

In Solidarity,

Bonnie Datt

TRACEY SCOTT WILSON

Joint Statement with Bash Doran and Anya Epstein
Endorsed by Michelle Ashford, Kyle Bradstreet, Josh Brand, Brad Desch, Joel Fields, Liz Flahive, Tom Fontana, Danny Futterman, Rodrigo Garcia, Alex Gibney, Bryan Goluboff, David Henry Hwang, Courtney Kemp, Steven Levenson, Amy Lippman, Carly Mensch, Becky Mode, Phyllis Nagy, Frank Pugliese, Adam Rapp, Lara Shapiro, Blair Singer, Vanessa Taylor, Liz Tuccillo, Joe Weisberg, David Wiener and Stu Zicherman.

Between us we have showrun, staffed, developed, written, polished and made features, community organized, mentored though the Made-in-NY program, kick-started initiatives through the guild and diversity committee to combat racial and sexual harassment in writers’ rooms. We are outsiders (a black lesbian, a white straight woman, a white lesbian) and insiders (showrunners).  We are running because we are passionately committed to serving the guild and its members during what we expect to be a tumultuous two years.

At this critical moment — when we all are pushing for much-needed change in our relationship with the agencies — we believe there must be room for diversity at the table: diversity of gender, diversity of race and diversity of opinions. We have increasing concerns over the way the conflict with the ATA is being managed. We have no desire for a return to the status quo. We believe the ATA must make tremendous adjustments in the way they structure and do business. We also believe that the acknowledgement — and inclusion — of questioning and challenging voices will be key toward retaining solidarity and guiding this action toward a more thoughtful resolution. Going forward, we aim to ensure more open communication between members and leadership, greater transparency at every turn, protection for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters and most of all — the articulation of a clear, achievable vision for the future that will benefit all writers. These values will also guide us through the upcoming and critical MBA negotiations.

Additionally, we are committed to the following actions over our two-year term:

• HEALTH INSURANCE. The number one thing members love about our guild is our outstanding health insurance. We will take responsibility for making sure the fund stays resilient no matter what legal battles lay before us. And if we find ourselves on strike in 2020 we will spearhead a campaign to ensure members in danger of losing their insurance are protected.
• FIGHT FOR THE SCREENWRITERS! The guild is dominated by television writers and their concerns. We are committed to making sure the guild fosters a culture of engaging with screenwriters as individuals and as a community. We will facilitate a monthly screenwriter meet-up in the first year to air views and take it from there.
• RACIAL AND GENDER INCLUSION. (Duh.)
• SHOWRUNNER RESPONSIBILITIES. Showrunners are union-members of course but they are also management. The guild is outstanding at fighting for what we need from the outside world but we can also do better from within our own ranks. Right now – diversity, pay, room-culture are issues over which showrunners have a degree of control. We are committed to structuring a conversation around ways showrunners can better support their staff.
• PRO-ACTIVE SUPPORT FOR WRITERS SEEKING WORK DURING ATA-WGA CONFLICT. Whilst we would have concerns about the guild becoming the only agent for writers long-term (per the Teamsters) we do very much support and seek to amplify ways to help non-represented writers find work during this painful time. As showrunners we are deeply aware of the limitations of the portal submission system and appreciate the frustrations of both those seeking to submit and those seeking to hire. We have put forward one meaningful proposal to the guild which we are now working with staff to implement: Scene of the Day will be a daily blast of one scene to be sent to all guild members, facilitating exposure and the possibility of future work. We have other nascent ideas in mind and are looking forward to an ongoing dialogue with members to hear what their ideas are towards this end.

JOSH GONDELMAN

Hi WGAE Members,

My name is Josh Gondelman. I’m a comedy writer (currently at Desus & Mero, recently of Last Week Tonight) based in New York city, and I’m running for WGA Council as part of the Unity Slate alongside candidates Beau Willimon for President, Kathy McGee for VP, Bob Schneider for Secretary-Treasurer and Freelance members of the Council: Bonnie Datt, Dru Johnston, Courtney Simon, David Simon, and Amy Sohn.

I am excited to be a part of this group because of its members’ history of and dedication to strengthening and expanding the union, as well as advocating tirelessly for the benefit of all WGAE members. As a first-time candidate, I am eager to bring my perspective to a group of experienced Council members and other newcomers.

The philosophical foundation of the Unity Slate is a clear, progressive vision for the future of the Guild, outlined below…

• UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.
• DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.

Our SLATE ENDORSEMENTS include: Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

This Unity Slate isn’t attempting to be elected as a monolithic bloc. It’s a group organized around core values, with each member providing a unique point of view. Personally, the bulk of my writing experience has been in the talk/variety field, a subset of the Guild whose voices are fewer in number. I look forward to being an advocate for those writers amid my advocacy for the union as a whole if elected. I’ve also written in a freelance capacity for several WGA publications on the news side, and working closely with that arm of the Council is something I’d very much look forward to. The recent organizing successes of the WGA have strengthened the union, providing more opportunities to extend more writers opportunities to make a fair living with well-deserved benefits.

Seeing the tenacity with which the Guild has approached its major recent challenges — from renegotiating the MBA in 2017 to taking on the compromised practice of agency packaging fees over the past year — has inspired me to become a more involved union member. As a part of the Unity Slate I hope to channel my enthusiasm into meaningful work towards an even stronger union that can even more capably provide protections and benefits for its growing membership.

Thank you for your time,

Josh Gondelman

COURTNEY SIMON

As I seek the privilege of a seventh term on the WGAE Council, I am especially proud to be running as a member of the Unity Slate, consisting of:

Freelance:
Bonnie Datt
Josh Gondelman
Dru Johnston
Courtney Simon
David Simon
Amy Sohn

Officers:
Beau Willimon   (President)
Kathy McGee  (Vice President)
Bob Schneider  (Secretary Treasurer)

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news.

These brothers and sisters share my concerns, my goals and my continued

commitment to diversity.  It’s hard to believe that our Guild did not even have a Diversity Committee until 2014.  But as co-chair of that committee, I’m proud to say that since then, we’ve come a long way toward making up for lost time.  The following platform includes some of our accomplishments as well as our priorities over the next two years.

      UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.

      ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.

      DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.

      COMMUNICATION   Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.

      RESOURCES – We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff Council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan.  Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

As you can see, our agenda is ambitious.  And in the area of diversity, I will make a concerted effort to increase the number of constituencies we serve.  Our committee began with a focus on providing more opportunities for women and people of color.  It is my goal to broaden that focus.  We need to provide support for other sectors of our Guild that are vulnerable to discrimination.  We need to combat ageism.  We need,to make sure that our LGBTQ community and our disabled members have access to all the opportunities they deserve.  I will spend this next term working to foster inclusion and equity on all fronts, for everyone in our union.

I have been endorsed by Susan Kim, Chris Kyle and Melissa Salmons.
In addition, our SLATE ENDORSEMENTS include: Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Francine Volpe, John Walsh, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Julia Young, Steve Young.

LARRY J. COHEN

Endorsed by: Tom Fontana, Kyle Bradstreet, Lara Shapiro, Tom Kelly, Julie Martin, Jackie Reingold, Kate Erickson, Bradford Winters, Brant Englestein and Jim Hart.

I’m an active Guild member, a working tv/film writer and proud New Yorker grateful to have been nominated to serve on the WGA East Council.

I’m what you might call a mid-level writer; I started my career days before the 2007 Writers’ Strike and have worked my way up from Writer’s Assistant to Staff Writer and now Writer/Producer. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to spend my entire career staffing and developing in New York. This year I sold my first pilot to a soon-to-be-major streaming service and continue the grind through the entertainment food chain.

My path is not an uncommon one, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for new and upcoming writers to climb their way up from the bottom. That’s why I’ve decided to run this year –– the Council needs more voices who understand the issues confronting the next generation of writers. While Showrunners, EPs and well-established writers grapple with their own set of problems, most don’t know or remember the unique challenges that so many face on a daily basis. It should come as no surprise that recent collective action by the Guild has hit our most vulnerable members the hardest. If we are going to maintain solidarity, we have to do a better job of creating more mentorship, more community building and more incentives to keep writers working on the East Coast. The success and support of this next generation is critical to the WGA East’s future.

At the same time, the seismic shifts hitting television, film, news, digital media and even newer mediums like podcasts continue to impact members across the board. I’ve seen some of that impact firsthand working on series for Netflix, newer premium networks like EPIX, international co-productions in Europe and films on Youtube and Vimeo. Shorter seasons, smaller rooms, tighter budgets and the flood of content driven by I.P. and clicks are just the beginning. Those aren’t necessarily all bad things, but we need to find new ways to leverage the WGA East’s diverse body of news and screen writers to make sure our time and work doesn’t depreciate while the industry becomes more competitive.

As consolidation continues, subscription services become the new norm and global markets turn more dominant, the major media companies are primed to take a wrecking ball to traditional models of profit participation. In 2020, the Guild must stake our claim to these emerging new platforms and business models or we risk losing our seat at the table for a generation. This is the single most important issue facing the WGA. Full stop. And if elected, I will be a tireless advocate to make sure we are prepared for next year’s MBA negotiations –– not just to make short-term gains but to carve out positions that protect us for the long term.

My goal is to be an independent, fair-minded representative and a moderate voice on the Council. This is your Guild and you should always feel safe to express your opinion openly and honestly. You deserve an approachable Council grounded in accountability and transparency, so you fully understand what’s driving decisions and never feel like your concerns aren’t being factored into the equation.

As writers, we are all connected by the shared struggle to churn out new pages every day. That’s why I love the WGA. The Guild has championed healthcare, residuals, protections and fair wages to protect writers of all levels. Now, I want fight to make sure those values remain the cornerstone of our Union while we carve out a new vision for the future of screenwriting, news, digital media and beyond.

I hope I can count on your support.

AMY SOHN

I am proud to be running as a member of the UNITY SLATE:

Freelance
Bonnie Datt
Josh Gondelman
Dru Johnston
Courtney Simon
David Simon
Amy Sohn

Officers
Beau Willimon (President)
Kathy McGee (Vice President)
Bob Schneider (Secretary-Treasurer)

OUR PLATFORM

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all Guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news. Our priorities over the next two years:

• UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.
• DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff Council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan. Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

THE UNITY IS ENDORSED BY WRITERS FROM ALL SECTORS OF THE GUILD, including: Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

ABOUT ME

For the past two years I have been honored to serve on Council. I am asking for your vote so I can continue to serve you. My association with unions goes back a long way; I earned my Equity card as a 12-year-old theater actress. Today, I am a journalist, author, TV writer, and screenwriter. My novels include Prospect Park West and The Actress, and an upcoming non-fiction book for Farrar, Straus & Giroux. I have developed shows and original movies for HBO, Fox, Lifetime, ABC, and others.

During my time on Council, I have served on the Sexual Harassment Committee, helping the Guild be responsive to harassment of its members, developing programming and panels, and strategizing about ways to address hostile environments and quid pro quo. On the Organizing Committee, I have worked to connect and unify Freelance and Staff members, supporting our outreach to digital media. News writers of all types must be protected in an era when free speech and freedom of the press are threatened every day, and when conglomerates control how we get our news. To evolve as a union we must enlist and support different types of storytellers, such as podcasters. We started out as a radio union, then moved into television. Ways of telling stories change but workers must always be protected.

In New York, we have a small number of writers’ rooms with a limited job pool for emerging writers. I am working to make that change. As a midlife mother, public school parent, and “emerging writer” who has been in the union 14 years, I care deeply about those of us who don’t qualify for health care every year or make a living wage as writers. I will strive to get more Eastern writers working in the East, with the help of New York and New Jersey diversity credits.

Unions:  WGAE member, 2005-present. SAG-Aftra, 1989-present. Actors Equity, 1985-present WGAE:  Sexual Harassment Committee, Organizing Committee, Health Fund Trustee Review and Appointment Committee, Team Captain

Other:  2019 WGAE delegate to United Association for Labor Education Northeast Summer School for Women in Unions and Worker Organizations

Also:  NYC native, Mitchell-Lama, Hunter College High School, Brown University

DAVID SIMON

My name is David Simon and I’ve been a member of the WGAE since 1995.  I am a television writer and producer who for 15 years prior to my time in that capacity worked as a metro reporter at the Baltimore Sun.

For the past two years, I have served on the council for the WGAE.

Although I had been nominated for a council position for several cycles prior to my current service, I had previously declined believing that there were more veteran voices within the union that should represent the membership.  Eventually, however, I came to feel that council service is a collective obligation and so I resolved to serve a term to do my share on behalf of an organization that has protected my economic interests and fought for my creative space within a changing industry.  I was a member of the Newspaper Guild prior to my enrollment in the WGAE.  I have been a union man my whole career.  I believe in collective bargaining and collective action and I regard my commitment to following the will of the majority of brothers and sisters, once they have voted on an issue, to be sacrosanct.  We act as one or the union itself cannot be effective.  This is simply so.

It had been my ambition to a serve a term and then withdraw from the council, allowing other members the opportunity to share in the responsibilities of that service.  Now, however, with a job action ongoing with the Big Four agencies, I feel it would be irresponsible to step down in the middle of that campaign.  More importantly, I feel it would be irresponsible not to provide our leadership and our bargaining committee with a united front so that we have the best possible chance of delivering real gains and fundamental transformation of our industry in a struggle that has long been inevitable and essential.  To that end, I am proudly running on a slate with other council members who are committed to delivering that support and solidarity.

Let me be blunt about my status as a television writer.  I am one of those who wear the joint labor/management hat of a writer/producer.  It is a problematic position within our union in that the interests of every writer/producer or showrunner are inherently in conflict.  As a writer and a member of the WGAE, and certainly as a council member, my absolute allegiance must be to the craft and position of the television or film writer.  My interests as a producer cannot and should not factor in my deliberations or votes.  The union is here first and foremost as a labor organization; it defends and services the laborers and their skill above all.

As a producer, I have been with the same television agent for a quarter century and it has been easy for me to retain representation.  As a showrunner, I have been on the same HBO development deal – renegotiated at intervals of two and three years – for 18 years.  If I am gauging self-interest on the basis of my producorial status, there is little to be gleaned personally by engaging in this battle.  In fact, my status will be unaffected whether the WGA wins or loses this packaging fight – especially given the fact that I have refused to allow myself or my shows to be packaged since I discovered as a young writer the incredible conflict of interest and organized bid-rigging that packaging represents.  Having covered bid-rigging and racketeering in the federal courts of Baltimore, I can assure everyone that packaging bears the comparison well.  If I went along with this scam, allowing my shows’ shooting budgets to be raided by agencies who take money off the screen and artificially reduce the cost of all the talent below my position, I could save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in commission that I willingly pay.  I do so because to not pay that money while my WGA brethren are being diminished is to in effect profit from the bid-rigging and accept what amounts to a bribe.

But for all the younger and more vulnerable writers in my union – the men and women who labor for and with me on my productions – there is much less opportunity to obtain representation.  Why?  Because agents have little incentive to spend time and effort on behalf of junior writers who cannot deliver or produce the kind of packaging through which the agencies now make their real money.  These younger and more vulnerable writers cannot go to HBO business affairs and demand pay commensurate with their talents when the rate for staff writers, story editors, and junior producers has been artificially reduced by the wholesale indifference of agents to champion younger writers at the expense of the packages themselves.  As a showrunner, I have seen firsthand how packaging has corrupted the direct fiduciary role of agents in advocating for younger writers.  They are the ones being betrayed by this dynamic.  It is unsurprising to me that some small number of my fellow showrunners – accustomed to not paying their 10 percent and unaffected by the relative poverty of those lower on the pay pyramid – are among some of the more vocal opponents of the current campaign.  Yes, they are doing fine.  At a certain point up the pyramid, this system does have advantages.

As someone steeped in the power of unions who knows that nothing worth fighting for was ever gained by such little cost as going without a business representative for a couple months, I confess to being a bit embarrassed by some of the few complaints I’ve heard from a handful of members.  I think of Flint, Ludlow, Haymarket, or even the earlier and hard-fought battles of this union in establishing itself and guaranteeing us a living wage and real benefits, and I wonder how anyone can issue a jeremiad against this action so quickly.  Especially when twice now, the agencies have come back and thrown small amounts of cash on the table – money that wasn’t there before we began this fight.  Is it enough?  Is there an amount that will be enough to justify the maintenance of packaging?  It’s hard to say when the agencies are refusing all efforts at establishing transparency, or when the percentages are still so seemingly small.  But the precedent has already been broken: For the first time, the agencies are acknowledging an inherent problem with packaging and they are throwing the first bones.  Undercutting our negotiating committee now – rather than strengthening it with the support of this unity slate – is a mug’s move.  And making that move will weaken us just as we head into our triannual negotiation with the studios; maintaining our commitment to the long haul with the agents shows our real resolve not only to the agencies, but to the studios as well.

For these reasons, I am proud to be a part of the unity slate.  And for these reasons, I respectfully ask to be returned to the WGAE council for a second term so that the essential work of addressing the longstanding problem of agency packaging will be supported and not undercut.

DRU JOHNSTON

My name is Dru Johnston and I’m running for council on the Unity Slate which includes freelance candidates Bonnie Datt, Josh Gondelman, myself, Courtney Simon, David Simon and Amy Sohn, as well as officer nominees Beau Willimon (President), Kathy McGee (Vice President) and Bob Schneider (Secretary Treasurer). I’m running on the Unity Slate because as a younger guild member I’m worried about my future in an industry where conflicts of interest remain unchecked. I think standing strong now is necessary for both us and for future generations of writers.

OUR PLATFORM

We are team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent all guild sectors and a range of career levels in film, television, comedy/variety, animation and news. Our priorities over the next two years:

• UNITY – Our Guild’s strength is in its solidarity. We aim to maximize that strength with regard to the agency struggle and the upcoming MBA negotiations. We support a firm stance in systemically addressing conflicts of interest within our industry.
• ORGANIZING – We support robust organizing efforts, particularly in the digital news and non–fiction sectors. Over the past two years our membership has grown by over a 1,000 members. This is among the fastest growth rate of any union in the country. We will continue aggressive, targeted expansion both to strengthen our union and the labor movement as a whole.
• DIVERSITY – We are committed to increasing the diversity of our industry. Members of our team have served on the WGAE’s Diversity Committee, worked to get diversity tax credits passed in both New York and New Jersey, and helped launch the Made in NY Writers Room mentoring program with funding from the New York City to improve career opportunities for marginalized writers. Many of the new contracts in the digital news sector now include diversity clauses to ensure that hiring better reflects our community. We will continue and expand this important work.
• COMMUNICATION– Our duty is to faithfully represent those who elect us. We respect and welcome all feedback and opinions. We will continue to conduct membership meetings, keep you informed and seek your input.
• RESOURCES– We will work to improve the Guild’s staffing/development tools and networking resources. We will strive to innovate new pathways to increase employment opportunities.

For the News Staff council seats we endorse Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan. Their work on organizing the digital media sector has been extraordinary and we intend to support their continued efforts.

ENDORSEMENTS

Our Unity Slate endorsements include writers from all sectors of the Guild:  Kristen Acimovic, Shelly Altman, Jonathan Ames, John Auerbach, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Dan Berman, Shari Springer Berman, Emmy Blotnick, Sage Boggs, Adam Brooks, Brian Burns, Ken Burns, Kate Capiello, Ron Carlivati, Dan Chamberlain, Cristine Chambers, J.C. Chandor, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Laurie Collyer, Tim Cooper, Carolyn Culliton, Cami Delavigne, Nate Dern, Judith Donato, Anna Drezen, Mike Drucker, Ariel Dumas, Kate Erickson, Kaitlin Fontana, Noah Forman, Scott Frank, Claire Friedman, Ziwe Fumudoh, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Carin Greenberg, Dan Gurewitch, Meredith Haggerty, Paul Haggis, Kate Hall, Mary Harron, Steve Higgins, Chuck Hogan, A.M. Homes, Janet Iacobuzio, Steven Katz, Kim Kelly, Jonathan Kesselman, Hannah Keyser, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Klinman, Richard LaGravenese, Gail Lee, Cristina Mila, Hamilton Nolan, Steve O’Donnell, Alanna Okun, Danielle Paige, Zhubin Parang, Jean Passanante, Josh Patten, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Mike Pielocik, Jeremy Pikser, Richard Price, Robert Pulcini, Ken Racioppi, Erika Roberson, Vivian Rodriguez, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Ted Schreiber, Craig Shemin, Syndi Shumer, Ben Silva, Nicole Silverberg, Amy Rose Spiegel, Jen Statsky, Jeff Stolzer, Kelly Stout, Millee Taggart, Judy Tate, Jim Taylor, Jill Twiss, Richard Vetere, Francine Volpe, Shannon Walker, John Walsh, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Michael Winship, Chris Yakaitis, Julia Young, Steve Young and William F. Zorzi.

I am also personally endorsed by Zhubin Parang.

Now a bit about me and why I’m running: Hi! Nice to meet you! Unless I know you already, in which case what’s up Will how you been? I’m a newer member of the guild, having joined in 2017, and I primarily work in the late night/comedy space. In my short time here I have been consistently astounded by the work and tenacity of the guild. I want to continue this tradition, and also put a focus on improving communications between membership and leadership, particularly among new members of the guild.

Joining this union is a distinguished honor, but it can also be overwhelming. In my first year I took for granted what the guild had already done for me and my fellow writers, mostly because it was so daunting to understand the intricacies of the MBA and the terminology surrounding it. As a result, when our debate surrounding packaging fees and the ATA began I was unable to offer an educated opinion, since most of what was being discussed was brand new to me, as it was to most entry level writers. Only after days of research and conversation did I feel like I was equipped with the knowledge to form an actual opinion. I think we could make it easier for future generations, and strengthen the guild in the process.

I’d like to implement a mentorship program where established veterans will be paired with new members to help their transition into the WGA. I firmly believe one on one communication between established members and newer writers will create a stronger union base. It will arm newer members with the knowledge to have an educated voice during tumultuous negotiations, and will also open a dialogue for established writers to become aware of the concerns of entry level writers, and vice versa. The existing new member mixers and orientation meetings are great, but are also a hurdle for newer members who don’t quite understand the level of engagement necessary for a strong and vibrant union.

I want to continue the WGA’s fight for greater diversity in writer’s rooms. I want to continue to improve the online submission portal, which was a great first step but not without its flaws. And I want to listen to the membership, in particular the thoughts, worries and opinions of the writers who are just finding their footing.

Thank you for reading and I hope to have your support in the coming months!

DAVID ANGELO

Okay, so, first things first—I always lose these elections.  In 2018, I even managed to place dead last! So while I am serious about running, I want to also use this venue to promote some ideas I hope will be adopted regardless of where the votes fall. For instance, last year (in these very statements!) I proposed the guild put pressure on the agencies to negotiate by creating an internal job posting board for staff positions at signatory shows.  The guild eventually did that, albeit hastily rolled-out with a user interface I don’t find very useful– but it got done! I hope to achieve even more this year; win or lose.

This agency strike is a huge issue for many members, and probably the reason so many people have interest in the election this year. I’ve listened to many concerns from many perspectives and think we need to really balance this one properly.  For instance, this strike is particularly hard on feature writers, who are often isolated from the social-professional networking found in TV and therefore rely heavily on agents for work.  We can’t forget about them! The package-deal writers are extremely talented and important to the guild, but there are a lot of other writers (with less savings) who need to be equally represented in the council. Though I strongly oppose writers going to the press to attack the guild, I think these disagreements could be more constructively aired out “in house” if everyone felt better represented.  It’s so important to have a council that can find a solution to move us forward as a unified group.

My other proposals are the same as in previous years.  We need direct deposit on residuals. SAG offers their members this option so it is clearly possible. I receive nearly a thousand individual checks a year (often for less than a dollar) and this is awful for the environment and a fix that should have been done by now. If the council can’t deliver on these small things, what chance do we have with the major problems?

I would also be interested in pursuing a motion picture industry health clinic here in New York. One of the nice things about Los Angeles is there are six dedicated clinics where guild members can receive health care. While sympathetic to the differences in logistics and demographics of the two cities, I think that’s something worth looking into.

I’m not listing credits or seeking endorsements because they’re truly irrelevant, but I have been in the guild over 10 years now, worked on the Made in NY Writers Room program, and am familiar with how most things function and don’t function and would like to help where I think I can. Thank you!

BASH DORAN

Joint Statement with Anya Epstein and Tracey Scott Wilson
Endorsed by Michelle Ashford, Kyle Bradstreet, Josh Brand, Brad Desch, Joel Fields, Liz Flahive, Tom Fontana, Danny Futterman, Rodrigo Garcia, Alex Gibney, Bryan Goluboff, David Henry Hwang, Courtney Kemp, Steven Levenson, Amy Lippman, Carly Mensch, Becky Mode, Phyllis Nagy, Frank Pugliese, Adam Rapp, Lara Shapiro, Blair Singer, Vanessa Taylor, Liz Tuccillo, Joe Weisberg, David Wiener and Stu Zicherman.

Between us we have showrun, staffed, developed, written, polished and made features, community organized, mentored though the Made-in-NY program, kick-started initiatives through the guild and diversity committee to combat racial and sexual harassment in writers’ rooms. We are outsiders (a black lesbian, a white straight woman, a white lesbian) and insiders (showrunners).  We are running because we are passionately committed to serving the guild and its members during what we expect to be a tumultuous two years.

At this critical moment — when we all are pushing for much-needed change in our relationship with the agencies — we believe there must be room for diversity at the table: diversity of gender, diversity of race and diversity of opinions. We have increasing concerns over the way the conflict with the ATA is being managed. We have no desire for a return to the status quo. We believe the ATA must make tremendous adjustments in the way they structure and do business. We also believe that the acknowledgement — and inclusion — of questioning and challenging voices will be key toward retaining solidarity and guiding this action toward a more thoughtful resolution. Going forward, we aim to ensure more open communication between members and leadership, greater transparency at every turn, protection for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters and most of all — the articulation of a clear, achievable vision for the future that will benefit all writers. These values will also guide us through the upcoming and critical MBA negotiations.

Additionally, we are committed to the following actions over our two-year term:

• HEALTH INSURANCE. The number one thing members love about our guild is our outstanding health insurance. We will take responsibility for making sure the fund stays resilient no matter what legal battles lay before us. And if we find ourselves on strike in 2020 we will spearhead a campaign to ensure members in danger of losing their insurance are protected.
• FIGHT FOR THE SCREENWRITERS! The guild is dominated by television writers and their concerns. We are committed to making sure the guild fosters a culture of engaging with screenwriters as individuals and as a community. We will facilitate a monthly screenwriter meet-up in the first year to air views and take it from there.
• RACIAL AND GENDER INCLUSION. (Duh.)
• SHOWRUNNER RESPONSIBILITIES. Showrunners are union-members of course but they are also management. The guild is outstanding at fighting for what we need from the outside world but we can also do better from within our own ranks. Right now – diversity, pay, room-culture are issues over which showrunners have a degree of control. We are committed to structuring a conversation around ways showrunners can better support their staff.
• PRO-ACTIVE SUPPORT FOR WRITERS SEEKING WORK DURING ATA-WGA CONFLICT. Whilst we would have concerns about the guild becoming the only agent for writers long-term (per the Teamsters) we do very much support and seek to amplify ways to help non-represented writers find work during this painful time. As showrunners we are deeply aware of the limitations of the portal submission system and appreciate the frustrations of both those seeking to submit and those seeking to hire. We have put forward one meaningful proposal to the guild which we are now working with staff to implement: Scene of the Day will be a daily blast of one scene to be sent to all guild members, facilitating exposure and the possibility of future work. We have other nascent ideas in mind and are looking forward to an ongoing dialogue with members to hear what their ideas are towards this end.

STU ZICHERMAN

My name is Stu Zicherman and I am enormously grateful to be nominated for WGAE Council for the third time. In the past, I have written an elaborate candidate statement about myself (20-plus years in the WGAE), my career (most recently SWEETBITTER and THE AMERICANS) and laid out a list of kind people who have endorsed me. This time I’m going to just speak from my heart, and try to keep it short, because there are a lot of candidates and you have a lot to read.

Here is what I really want to say:

This has been a rough year. Brutal. The Agency Campaign has led us to the brink of civil war inside the guild. We have all been part of much conversation and heard a wide array of strong opinions that have left our membership feeling confused and thoroughly frustrated. We all want to resolve the issues but don’t know the answers. Many of us have never seen a clear answer to this campaign and are now feeling something between panic and general fatigue. Worst of all, some of our members feel they can no longer trust the leadership. That is a terrible feeling and erodes at the fabric of the guild.

I have been a sounding board for a great number of friends and colleagues within the guild about the Agency campaign. They have told me that I am a voice of reason. I have joked that as a child of divorced parents, I became very good at listening to every side of an argument and distilling the issues. I am frustrated by a number of things that have led us to this point, but as I write this today, my sole focus is “What can we do NOW?” This is not a criticism, because we need to air our grievances, but so many of us have gotten into a habit of venting and arguing about everything that has happened up to this moment. The honest truth is how we got here no longer matters. What we can do moving forward… what solutions we can come up with… how we can make our voices heard… and how we can bring about real change… that is my focus is now.

I strongly feel that our membership cannot fold this campaign and walk away with nothing, but I want my agent back. I don’t believe a world exists without packaging of some sort, and I don’t want writers left on the outside looking in. I am committed to getting the agencies to open their books and to finding a viable solution based around revenue sharing. I can’t pitch you specifics at this moment because we mere members of the WGA have been locked out of any details of the negotiation. As a council member, closer to the inner sanctum, I vow to make my voice heard, to listen to you, to bring practical solutions to our leadership, and do my very best to be a voice of reason.

Who we vote into office may very well help determine the future of the guild and the long-term fates of our careers.  We need leadership that has experience and clarity. I would be honored to serve on council and would greatly appreciate your vote.

Endorsed by:

Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg, Michael Rauch, Lucy Thurber, Bryan Goluboff, Liz Tucillo, Anya Epstein, Bash Doran, Lara Shapiro, Tracey Scott Wilson, Peter Ackerman, Sharr White, Kenneth Lin.

2019 Candidates for Staff Seats 

KIM KELLY

Candidate Statement

Grateful to be endorsed by: the Unity Slate, Gail Lee, Susan Kim, Hamilton Nolan, Kaitlin Fontana, Kelly Stout

In 2017, I was elected to serve my first term on this council; I couldn’t really believe it when I got the email, and now, two years later, still have to pinch myself a little when I think about it. I’ve been a member of the WGAE since 2015, when my then-workplace, VICE, organized; since then, I’ve been in countless meetings, spoken at tons of union events, helped bargain two contracts, and gotten a first-hand look at the power of collective action. Through that experience and my own love for labor history, I’ve also become Teen Vogue’s labor columnist, as well as a contributor to the Washington Post, the New Republic, and many others. (Not bad for a construction worker’s daughter-slash-tattooed college dropout from the middle of nowhere, huh?)

I can’t stress enough how proud I am to have been entrusted with the responsibility of representing and advocating for our members, especially those in the digital media space, and to have seen our union grow so much in such a short time. From the passage of our diversity tax credits to the constant stream of new shops we’re organizing, the WGAE is killing it out here.

However, it’s no secret that our industry is in crisis. Mass layoffs are a feature, not a bug, and no one knows where the hammer will fall next. Earlier this year, I felt that pain myself, when after four years of writing (and rabble-rousing) at VICE, I was swept up in their latest round of layoffs. I was on my way out, but it was still profoundly destabilizing—and a little scary, since the call came three days before my rent check was due. But, the first person I called was my union rep, and in the following days and weeks, I spent many hours on the phone with our tireless, brilliant Guild staff to work through the carnage. Without the solidarity, support, and resources they shared with me and my 249 other laid-off fellow workers, a difficult situation would have turned into an outright nightmare.

This is just one reason why organizing is so important to me, why I’m very happy to endorse the Unity Slate’s agenda, and why it continues to be my priority as a councilperson. We are living in dark times, and those of us in the media know that as well as anyone; it’s our job to document the horrors, and to search for the light. But it’s a time for action, not just words, and organizing is one concrete way to make a material impact on peoples’ lives—especially those vulnerable marginalized workers for whom a union contract is the only real bulwark against the boss’ malfeasance, and my fellow freelancers, who are counting on staffers to include us in their struggle.

Everyone deserves a union, and digital media deserves to become a fully unionized industry. We’ve come so far already, and have genuinely changed the world—both for the hundreds of individual workers who now enjoy the protection and benefits of a strong union contract, and in a broader sense. I firmly believe that the upswing in public support for unions can be directly tied to the work our members have done as reporters covering labor issues, and as organizers documenting their own campaigns. What we’ve done—what we’re doing—is historic, and we should be proud.

Our work here isn’t done, though. We’ve made an utterly tremendous start, but we have so many more lives to change, and countless new stories to write. I hope that I’m able to continue serving on the front lines of that fight, as your voice on the WGAE Council.

In solidarity,

Kim

PHILIP PILATO

Endorsed by Jack Conceicao, Tom Fontana, Jim Maloney, Kyle McMorrow, Courtney Simon, and Michael Winship.

When the commander-in-chief says you are the “enemy of the people” – you have to stand up and do something.

That’s one reason I’m running for another term as a WGAE Council member representing News writers – but not the only one.

We work hard to get stories right, and sure we make mistakes, but at least we admit them and make corrections – unlike the current administration.  We’re professionals and deserve decent pay and benefits.

The current administration is also not a friend of labor – making changes that would affect every member of the Writers Guild, changes in labor law enforcement, net neutrality and health care.

Those are things we as a Guild must fight – so we don’t lose what we’ve already achieved.

I care deeply for working writers.  Since I’ve been on the council – one of my top priorities – and a top priority of my fellow council members has been to organize non-union shops.

I’m proud to say during the last 10 years, our union has grown as a result of this effort.

Hundreds of Digital News writers are now part of our union – and finally get decent pay and benefits. And Non-Fiction TV writers are also being signed up.

At the same time, I and my fellow council members realized we needed more diversity in the Guild – so we formed the Diversity committee – of which I am a member – and fought to get more women writers and writers of color into the fold. We’ve worked hard        to get passage of a Writers Diversity Tax Credit in NJ– which will give tax incentives to companies that hire writers of color and women writers — and establish writers’ rooms in the Garden State.  We’re still fighting to get Governor Cuomo to allow the same thing in New York.

Over the past ten years that I’ve been a council member, I’ve walked the picket lines with our MBA brothers and sisters, met with members of our sister union – the WGA West as part of the national council and represented other council members on the Executive Committee – working with the officers of the Guild to further our causes.

I’ve also worked on rewriting the Guild’s constitution and served on other committees, including the News Committee, as well as volunteering during our annual awards ceremonies.

Therefore, I once again ask you to allow me to continue to serve you – the members of the Guild – by voting for me for another term as a council member. After all, it’s members who run the Guild and members who are the Guild.

 

HAMILTON NOLAN

In 2015, my colleagues and I at Gawker Media became the first digital media company to join the Writers Guild. Since then, more than a thousand media workers across our industry have joined us at the WGAE. The wave of unionization that has swept through our industry has been one of the brightest spots in the recent history of organized labor. It won’t be long before we can say that, through the work of countless people, we have transformed a non-union industry into a union industry. That’s important. Journalists are professional cynics. But watching hundreds and hundreds of us fight and win unions, contracts, and rights in the workplace is the single most heartwarming thing I have seen in my entire damn career.

The WGAE has a proud tradition of organizing that stretches back many years. Our union didn’t just sit around and enjoy its own safe position–it made a commitment to organizing reality TV workers, and it made a commitment to organizing media workers. That organizing is still ongoing. And we must always, always be looking out for more opportunities to organize in the future. The bigger we get, and the broader our reach, the stronger we get. Only one in ten workers in America have a union today, but ten in ten workers deserve a union. Constantly working to bring new members into our union is a job that is just as important as serving our current members, and I will remain committed to that goal, forever. The rise of inequality–and the subsequent rise of the Trump era–is directly tied to the decline of unions. We have been doing our part to bring unions back. We have to continue to make that a priority. The strong unions we build today are the biggest legacy that any of us will leave behind.

Our union’s wide scope is a source of strength. We all support one another. Screenwriters publicly support journalists when we fight for recognition or are forced to walk out; and we in turn will support the Freelance side of our union in the ongoing fight to make Hollywood agencies treat writers fairly. The WGAE’s stand against being ripped off by powerful agencies is one of the most impressive labor actions in recent memory. We will win this fight. I am supporting the Unity slate that is running to make sure that the fight is won. The battles will change in years to come, but as long as we all stand together, we will change a lot of working people’s lives for the better.

The WGAE is one of the best unions in America. Let’s keep it that way. And let’s organize as many people as we can.

I am endorsed by all of the members of the Unity slate, as well as by Kelly Stout, Kim Kelly, and Kaitlin Fontana.