Candidates | 2021 Council Election | Writers Guild of America, East

Candidate Statements for the 2021 Writers Guild of America, East Council Election have been posted below.

Each name links to that individual candidate’s statement.

Voting will take place online beginning August 26, 2021 (paper ballots will be available upon request). Voting instructions will arrive in August in a Guild envelope marked “Election Material.” The WGAE does not endorse or recommend any candidates for Guild office.

* The order of listing candidates is determined by a drawing of candidates’ names by lot, conducted by two Guild members with a WGAE staff member acting as witness.

† (i) denotes incumbent

2021 Candidates for Officer Positions

MICHAEL WINSHIP

Candidate’s Statement for WGAE Presidency – Michael Winship – 2021

Why?

Why am I running once again to be president of our union? I held that position for a decade, from 2007-2017, working on behalf of you and our fellow members.

Now I wish to return to the job because right now we’re at a turning point in our union’s history, a moment of unprecedented change. We need to pause and consider where we’re heading with calm, reason, and vision. We need the kind of leadership exemplified by our Inclusion and Experience ticket, which for the first time represents a majority of BIPOC candidates (seven of twelve) in combination with decades of leadership experience and members working in movies, TV, broadcast and digital news.

Here are our top priorities:

FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: Our ticket will result in the most diverse Council in WGAE history. We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

I urge you to vote for our entire Inclusion and Experience ticket:

President Michael Winship
Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
Secretary-Treasurer Chris Kyle

FREELANCE
David Simon (i = incumbent)
Bonnie Datt (i)
Tracey Scott Wilson
Greg Iwinski
Lauren Ashley Smith
Tian Jun Gu

STAFF
Phil Pilato (i)
Kathy McGee
James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by more than 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Sorraya Brashear, Adam Brooks, Mike Brumm, Eleanor Burgess, Jessica Caldwell, Maria Agui Carter, Stinson Carter, Laura Maria Censabella, Marisa Jo Cerar, Cristine Chambers, Lana Cho, Andrea Ciannavei, Tripper Clancy, Eliza Clark, Leslie Clark, Micharne Cloughley, Leila Cohan, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Julia Cohen, Larry Cohen, Geri Cole, Jack Conceicao, Bill Condon.

T Cooper, Timothy Cooper, Sinead Daly, Courtney Dasher, Leigh Davenport, Angie Day, Emmylou Diaz, Bash Doran, Richard Dresser, Laura Eason, Ayo Edebiri, Anya Epstein, Kate Erickson, Josh Fagin, Joel Fields, Tom Fontana, Alexandra Fox, Scott Frank, Gabrielle Fulton Ponder, Kelly Galuska, Joe Gangemi, Danielle Gaydos, Marin Gazzaniga, Terry George, Melissa James Gibson, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Gina Gionfriddo, Allison Glock-Cooper, Fred Graver, Carin Greenberg, Lev Grossman, Dina Gusovsky, Jerome Hairston, Denis Hamill, Ari Handel, Mary Harron, Emily Heller, Rashidi Hendrix, Steve Higgins, Melissa London Hilfers, Brandon K. Hines, Peter Hirsch, Sharon Hoffman, A.M. Homes, Soo Hugh, Monet Hurst-Mendoza, Shantira Jackson, Caytha Jentis, Erika Johnson, Dewayne Jones, Michael Jones-Morales, Alexa Junge, Christina Kallas, Jenn Kao, Tom Kelly, Callie Khouri, Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, Brian Koppelman, Tony Kushner.

Vincent Piazza, Victoria Pollack, Richard Price, Ken Racioppi, Janessa Ramos, Michael Rauch, Willie Reale, Jacquelyn Reingold, Mike Reiss, Michele Remsen, Andy Rheingold, Erika Roberson, Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Sharyn Rothstein, Molly Rydzel, Erica Saleh, Ken Scarborough, Davita Scarlett, Sara Schaefer, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Jana Schmieding, Bob Schneider.

Ted Schreiber, Tom Sellitti, Jim Serpico, Lara Shapiro, Syndi Shumer, Shari Simpson, Courtney Simon, Diana Son, Caissie St. Onge, P. Kevin Strader, Susanna Styron, Veena Sud, Marjorie Sweeney, Judy Tate, Natalia Temesgen, Robin Thede, Niccole Thurman, Adriana Trigiani, James Anthony Tyler, Jennifer Vanderbes, Richard Vetere, Holly Walker, Geoffrey Ward, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Richard Wesley, Beau Willimon, Doug Wright, Andy Yerkes, Steve Young, Stu Zicherman, William F. Zorzi, Alan Zweibel.

Colleagues and friends, I cherish the ten years I served as president, and look forward to serving you again. I am so proud of my successor Beau Willimon, as well as Vice President Kathy McGee and Secretary-Treasurer Bob Schneider. They have steered the Guild East through especially difficult times, including the 2020 MBA, the agency fight and a global pandemic that affected the livelihoods of every one of us.

Beau is stepping aside after two distinguished terms so he can get back to his life and career, Kathy McGee is running for council on our ticket, and Bob Schneider steps down from his post after years of distinguished service to the Guild, while continuing as a trustee for the health and pension fund. Bless them all.

Thank you for your support – and your vote for the Inclusion and Experience ticket!

My union activities: Current council member. Immediate past president, WGAE, 2007-2017. Immediate past chair, Policy Review Group, International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG), 2017-19. Member, WGAE Council, and member, National Council, multiple years; delegate, IAWG annual meeting, multiple years; co-chair, first World Conference of Screenwriters, Athens, 2009; chair, WGAE awards committee, 1989-2004; current advisory board member, Hollywood Health and Society; recipient, Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild; recipient (with president, Writers Guild West), Sidney Hillman Foundation Founders Award.

Among my credits: Writer, The Power of Protest (post-production, scheduled release, 2022). Senior writing fellow, digital website Common Dreams, 2018-present. Senior writer/editor, BillMoyers.com, digital website, 2011-2017. Senior writer, Moyers & Company, PBS, 2012-2015. Senior writing fellow at the progressive policy think tank Demos, 2011-2014. Senior writer, Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, 2008-2010. Co-producer, Baghdad Diary, The History Channel, 2007. Editorial producer, New York Times Television, 2004-2005. Extensive experience as a writer and/or producer of documentaries and public affairs programming, music-variety specials (In Performance at the White House, PBS), made-for-TV movies (My Sergei, CBS) and kid’s TV (Square One TV, 3-2-1 Contact, Sesame Workshop). Emmy Award winner and recipient of three Writers Guild Awards

LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN

My name is Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, and I am running for Vice President of the WGAE Council.

I am proud to be part of the Inclusion & Experience ticket, which represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

You may ask: why a slate, and why now? Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us. These are our top priorities:

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

The Inclusion & Experience ticket includes:

President Michael Winship
Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
Secretary-Treasurer Chris Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)
Bonnie Datt (i)
Tracey Scott Wilson
Greg Iwinski
Lauren Ashley Smith
Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)
Kathy McGee
James Harris

About me: Last year I was re-elected to my third term on Council. I have worked hard to represent members who have historically lacked power or voice, and for this work I was honored to receive the 2020 WGAE Richard B. Jablow Award for Service to the Guild.

My Guild achievements include:

Member of Executive Committee.
Co-chair of the Committee for Inclusion and Equity.
Kick-started the Salon system for affinity groups, now six Salons strong.
Founder and chair of the WGAE Women’s Salon.
Co-founder and co-chair of the WGAE Asian American Salon as well as the Asian American Writers of Entertainment.
Creator of the Diverse Writers of the East and Pre-WGA Diverse Writers of the East, databases of over 700 WGAE and Pre-WGAE TV writers who are BIPOC and/or women/nonbinary/trans.
Host, co-host and/or organizer over two dozen WGAE events in the past pandemic year alone.
Co-founder with my WGAE mentee Brandon K. Hines of Pathways to the WGA, a new series of programs to help Pre-WGA support staff into the WGAE.
Facilitated meet-and-greets for WGAE members with NBC Universal and CBS.
Facilitated the WGAE’s involvement in the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity’s annual survey.
Mentor in the WGAE’s inaugural mentorship program.
Lobbied in Trenton to add writers’ rooms and a diversity incentive to New Jersey’s newly restored Film and TV Tax Credit.
Lobbied in Albany multiple times for New York’s diversity credit.
Recently featured in the Hollywood Reporter and Adweek.
Named one of New Jersey’s Most Powerful Women.
Guest lecturer for marginalized groups including disadvantaged youth and the formerly incarcerated.

I am a TV writer currently in an overall deal with Universal Studios. I was a consulting producer on “Law & Order: SVU” and have developed drama pilots for Netflix, ABC, NBC, CBS, A&E and Warner Bros. I am a graduate of the WGAW Showrunner Training Program. Previously I authored two books and was a staff writer and foreign correspondent for TIME magazine. I was born and raised in Kobe, Japan, across the street from a yakuza kingpin whose gang war got my house shot — twice. New Jersey is my nirvana.

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Matt Aldrich, Liz Alper, Fred Armisen, Reza Aslan, David Auburn, John Auerbach, Neal Baer, Ramin Bahrani, Russell Banks, Tanya Barfield, Henry Bean, Daniel Beaty, Kathleen Bedoya, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Eleanor Bergstein, Brooke Berman, Jocelyn Bioh, Ashley Nicole Black, Peter Blauner, Kyle Bradstreet, Sorraya Brashear, Adam Brooks, Mike Brumm, Eleanor Burgess, Jessica Caldwell, Maria Agui Carter, Stinson Carter, Laura Maria Censabella, Marisa Jo Cerar, Cristine Chambers, Lana Cho, Andrea Ciannavei, Tripper Clancy, Eliza Clark, Leslie Clark, Micharne Cloughley, Leila Cohan, Ann Cohen, David Steven Cohen, Julia Cohen, Larry Cohen,

Geri Cole, Jack Conceicao, Bill Condon, T Cooper, Timothy Cooper, Sinead Daly, Courtney Dasher, Leigh Davenport, Angie Day, Emmylou Diaz, Bash Doran, Richard Dresser, Laura Eason, Ayo Edebiri, Anya Epstein, Kate Erickson, Josh Fagin, Joel Fields, Tom Fontana, Alexandra Fox, Scott Frank, Gabrielle Fulton Ponder, Kelly Galuska, Joe Gangemi, Danielle Gaydos, Marin Gazzaniga, Terry George, Melissa James Gibson, Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Gina Gionfriddo, Allison Glock-Cooper, Fred Graver, Carin Greenberg, Lev Grossman, Dina Gusovsky, Jerome Hairston, Denis Hamill, Ari Handel, Mary Harron, Emily Heller, Rashidi Hendrix, Steve Higgins, Melissa London Hilfers, Brandon K. Hines, Peter Hirsch, Sharon Hoffman, A.M. Homes, Soo Hugh, Monet Hurst-Mendoza, Shantira Jackson, Caytha Jentis, Erika Johnson, Dewayne Jones, Michael Jones-Morales, Alexa Junge, Christina Kallas, Jenn Kao, Tom Kelly, Callie Khouri, Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, Brian Koppelman, Tony Kushner,

Richard LaGravenese, Raye Lankford, Laura Lau, Norman Lear, Gail Lee, Warren Leight, Steve Levenson, Ken Levis, Rachel Lewis, Kenneth Lin, Jenny Lumet, Jim Maloney, John Mankiewicz, Michael A. Mariano, Julie Martin, X Mayo, Alison McDonald, Maria McIndoo, Alexandra McNally, Jessica Mecklenburg, Cristina Mila-Florescu, Jo Miller, Kelsey Minor, Annais Morales, Christine Nangle, Alan Neuwirth, Derek Nguyen, Steve O’Donnell, Mark Olshaker, Marygrace O’Shea, Carolina Paiz, Danielle Parker, Kizzie Pegues, George Pelecanos, Vincent Piazza, Victoria Pollack, Richard Price, Ken Racioppi, Janessa Ramos, Michael Rauch, Willie Reale, Jacquelyn Reingold, Mike Reiss, Michele Remsen, Andy Rheingold, Erika Roberson, Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Sharyn Rothstein, Molly Rydzel, Erica Saleh, Ken Scarborough, Davita Scarlett, Sara Schaefer, James Schamus, Bill Scheft, Jana Schmieding, Bob Schneider,

Thank you for your consideration. I am honored to serve you during these extraordinary times.

CHRISTOPHER KYLE

I am proud to be running for Secretary-Treasurer as part of the Inclusion & Experience Ticket, which represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

Why a slate, and why now?

Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us. These are our top priorities:

THE FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

Please Vote for the Inclusion & Experience Ticket:

President: Michael Winship
Vice President: Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
Secretary-Treasurer: Christopher Kyle
Freelance Council Members: David Simon (i), Bonnie Datt (i), Tracey Scott Wilson, Greg Iwinski, Lauren Ashley Smith, Tian Jun Gu
Staff Council Members: Phil Pilato (i), Kathy McGee, James Harris

About Me: I have been a Guild member since 1995, working primarily in features. I know full well the difficulty feature writers have been facing recently and how little we’ve been able to accomplish on our issues in the last two MBA cycles. One-step deals, free work, endless pitching, broken quotes—the last decade has been brutal for us. Now we face the decline of theatrical distribution and new business models in streaming that create opportunities but also have the potential to squeeze us even further. The next MBA cycle is crucial for feature writers and I will be a strong advocate for our issues in Council and on the 2023 Negotiating Committee.

My Guild Experience: WGAE Council Member 2014-2020; WGA Screen Credits Review Committee, 2018-present; Writers Guild Initiative Board Member, 2012-2018; Writers Guild Initiative Treasurer, 2018-present; MBA contract captain, 2017 and 2020; new member mentor.

My Credits: Serena, Alexander, K-19: The Widowmaker, The Weight of Water, Homicide: Life on the Streets. As a playwright: The Monogamist and Plunge (Playwrights Horizons), The Safety Net (Broken Watch Theatre), Boca (Charlotte Rep). Guggenheim Fellow in Drama.

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Bob Schneider, Ted Schreiber, Tom Sellitti, Jim Serpico, Lara Shapiro, Syndi Shumer, Shari Simpson, Courtney Simon, Diana Son, Caissie St. Onge, P. Kevin Strader, Susanna Styron, Veena Sud, Marjorie Sweeney, Judy Tate, Natalia Temesgen, Robin Thede, Niccole Thurman, Adriana Trigiani, James Anthony Tyler, Jennifer Vanderbes, Richard Vetere, Holly Walker, Geoffrey Ward, Caroline Waxler, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Richard Wesley, Beau Willimon, Doug Wright, Andy Yerkes, Steve Young, Stu Zicherman, William F. Zorzi, Alan Zweibel.

2021 Candidates for Freelance Seats

JOSH GONDELMAN

Hi WGAE Membership,

My name is Josh Gondelman, and I am a member of the Solidarity Slate, along with Kim Kelly, Sara David, Hamilton Nolan, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, and Benjamin Rosenblum. I’ve included the slate’s full platform below, but I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about myself.

Professionally, I’m a comedy/variety writer. I currently work as a writer/producer for Desus & Mero on Showtime, and before that I was a staff writer for several years at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Before that it was a lot of flailing and sleeping on a mattress that was very close to the floor, but that’s not super relevant to the matter at hand.

Since joining the WGAE, I’ve become increasingly involved in Guild issues and programs. I am currently finishing up my first term on Council (hence this email, obviously), and I’m also a participant in the WGAE captain program and the recently-established mentorship program. It is an honor and a thrill to get to be part of such a storied institution in so many ways, and I take it seriously, which is saying a lot because my life is basically engineered so that I don’t have to take many things seriously.

My perspective as a comedy/variety writer is central to my work on Council; it’s important to me to be an informed and impassioned advocate for comedy writers. And over the past two years, my position on Council has given me a broader point of view on the evolving issues that face our entire industry. While television and film writers negotiate our MBA every three years, the companies we negotiate against are constantly devising ways to create more profit for themselves, regardless of how they impact the people who create the work they distribute. (Isn’t innovation great? Ask a variety writer about residuals on streaming platforms to find out!) The WGAE gives writers the kinds of protection that workers across all industries deserve. It’s the reason that there’s no Uber for screenwriting. I mean, not literally. But maybe literally!

As more companies merge into unwieldy corporate Voltrons, writers need union protections now more than ever. It’s essential that in addition to fighting for a more equitable industry for our current members, where money and opportunity are not concentrated in just a few hands, we also have to continue assertively organizing digital media and nonfiction workplaces. It’s a fundamental task for our union, and in this task, solidarity is paramount. Members of the Guild whose work isn’t covered by the Minimum Basic Agreement and whose writing doesn’t fall under our agency agreement stood alongside screenwriters during our biggest actions of the past few years. And the least we can do is afford more such writers the benefits of WGAE membership. (Please excuse the frantic mixing of metaphors in this paragraph. It’s tough to make this genre of writing entertaining, and I am a compulsive people pleaser.)

It is my opinion that the candidates on the Solidarity Slate have the highest commitment to the goals of helping to provide security and prosperity for the most writers over the longest period of time.

In short, please consider me (and the Solidarity Slate) when it comes time to vote for the leadership of the WGAE.

Thank you for your time!

In solidarity,

Josh Gondelman

—————————————————-

SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Organizing: Everyone deserves a union. We strongly support organizing new members in media, nonfiction television and film, podcasts, animation, and other relevant areas of opportunity. Growth is a vital part of our power.

Solidarity: Our union includes members from different industries. That should be a strength, not a weakness. We are all storytellers. We value the collective mutual support of all parts of our union for one another.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Our members consistently say that making meaningful gains in DEI is a top priority. We will use our union’s power to fight discrimination and inequality in our industries and in America.

Transparency: Our union is a democratic institution. Council members are elected to work on behalf of the members. We must ensure that the Council is committed to open communication, not secrecy. We will also work to increase transparency in our industry, and to eliminate gatekeeping that harms marginalized writers.

Eliminating Free and Underpaid Work: Members are often unpaid or underpaid for their work. This is especially prevalent in development, with mini rooms, and among the streamers for freelance members, as well as among our journalist members who work as part-time or full-time freelance writers. We will advocate for real solutions for all of our members across these industries, and work to improve conditions in media as a whole.

Valuing our Comedy/Variety Members: Many freelance members in the WGAE work in comedy/variety. We will ensure their concerns have a robust voice on council, whether it’s negotiating the MBA, organizing new shops, increasing minimums, or obtaining residuals.

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

For more information on the Solidarity Slate and its candidates, you can visit www.solidarityslate.com.

My endorsements to date: Alison Leiby, Robert Kornhauser, Ziwe Fumudoh, Claire Friedman, Emmy Blotnick, Dan Gurewitch, Jill Twiss, Meredith Haggerty, Ariel Dumas, Eric Vilas-Boas, Kim Kelly, Sara David, Hamilton Nolan, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Amy Sohn, Kaitlin Fontana, Dru Johnston, Ashley Feinberg, Kelly Stout.

TIAN JUN GU

My name is Tian Jun Gu. I am honored to be nominated for WGAE Council and very proud to be part of the Inclusion & Experience slate, which represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

ABOUT ME: I started in this industry as Verve’s Story & Operations Manager. From there, a reader for The Black List, and then as a writer’s assistant for House of Cards. I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like on the “other” (i.e. business) side of the industry and also what it’s like on the ground floor. Positions that came with a lot of job insecurity. Now, I’ve been fortunate to live as a screenwriter because I’ve been fortunate to have a strong Guild.

My Guild experience includes co-chair of the Asian American Salon with Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, co-chair of the rebooted Sunday Salon started by Kyle Bradstreet (now the “Thursday Salon”), a team captain for contract negotiations and during the agency campaign, a member of the Inclusion and Equity Committee, an alum of the East’s Showrunner Training Program, a mentor in the WGAE Mentee program started by Marc Maurino and Guild staff, and a past reader for the Michael Collyer Fellowship.

All of this to say, I’ve interacted with many writers and while my focus is TV, I’m running to represent all of our members. Because as a working writer going from gig to gig (currently a Producer on Fox’s Monarch), I’m acutely aware of it all disappearing in an instant.

If elected, in addition to the proposed goals of the Inclusion & Experience ticket, I plan to tackle the following:

THE HAMSTER WHEEL OF FREE WORK: Endless pitching/revisions for feature writers, “development” in TV where the goal posts move further away… all of this has to be curbed. It’s been happening for too long and is getting worse. The great content boom has brought with it the nasty side effect that if you say no to the free work, producers and execs will find someone that’ll say yes. We have to make this a priority and tackle free work from the pitch stage down to those tense moments before a greenlight.

EQUITY, RETENTION, AND PROMOTION: Making the industry reflective of the world we live in should come with true, lasting change. That means creating paths for career promotion and longevity. The launch of the WGAE SRTP soon will help as more diverse members can participate and create more room opportunities in the East. Even if your goal isn’t to be a showrunner, if you are trained to be one, you are trained to be a better writer and producer in the room, on set, and beyond. Having done the compressed program in the East, the lessons taught are invaluable to writers for any screen, so the program’s accessibility is crucial.

THE EVER-CHANGING WORK ENVIRONMENT: I live and work bi-coastally, which is far less than ideal for a majority of this membership. With the rise of virtual meetings and hybrid rooms though, there’s less reason for jobs to escape writers living in the “wrong” city. Screen fatigue is real, but with the right resources and training mediated through the Guild (both East and West), we can keep more writers working.

Now, you may be asking: why a slate, and why now? Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us.

These are our top priorities:

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

With my position at Verve, I scoured the weekly Blacklist newsletter released at the time to champion new, unrepped writers. That’s how I started in this business and that’s how I will stay in it: being a champion for us. Thank you for your consideration of me and the slate.

The Inclusion & Experience ticket:

President Michael Winship

Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer Christopher Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)

Kathy McGee

James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

LAUREN ASHLEY SMITH

I am grateful to be endorsed by Jocelyn Bioh, Ashley Nicole Black, Karen Chee, Geri Cole, Leigh Davenport, Ayo Edebiri, Shantira Jackson, X Mayo, Caissie St. Onge, Sara Schaefer, Jana Schmieding, Robin Thede, Niccole Thurman, Holly Walker and Ziwe.

I am honored to be nominated for WGAE Council. A bit about me: I’m from St. Louis, MO and the oldest of 3 daughters. After 13 years in New York, I moved to L.A. in 2019. I was the Head Writer & Co-Executive Producer of the first two seasons of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” on HBO. I love dogs! And my wife.

As far as experience goes, I have served on the Awards Committee, presented at Captains Meetings, and most importantly, I had the privilege of serving on the 2020 MBA Negotiating Committee. In that role, I had the honor of speaking directly to the AMPTP about the vital Comedy/Variety proposals from the perspective of a Comedy/Variety writer. Since joining the Guild in 2013, I have had a policy of serving my union however I can, when asked to help. Now, I’m taking a more proactive and targeted approach: running for Council with a very clear purpose in mind.

I am committed to advocating loudly and unwaveringly on behalf of Black writers, Native writers, all writers of color, and writers with disabilities. When conditions, protections and compensations are less than ideal, the writers for whom those things are already less than ideal suffer most. To me, matters of equity and inclusion are not a long-term, slow-burn rollout of surveys and panel discussions; they are a matter of doing things that get positive results for historically excluded writers right now.

As a Comedy/Variety writer, I will work tirelessly to elevate our needs to the mainstream of the membership. This signal boost is vital because we will need the entire might of our union behind us to secure much-needed minimums and more reliable residuals for SVOD shows in our next negotiations, among many other things. During my service on the MBA Negotiating Committee, I was also educated about the improvements that still need to be made for staff writers and screenwriters and have taken those needs up as my own.

In me, writers who feel like they and their concerns are on the fringe will find an advocate. I say that not to exclude anyone else in the membership, but to more meaningfully include the folks I have listed. This deeply held personal mission is why I am proudly running as part of the Inclusion & Experience ticket and I humbly encourage you to cast your vote for the entire slate.

The ticket is unique in its makeup and qualifications: it represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

You may ask: why a slate, and why now? Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us.

These are our top priorities:

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

Please vote for the Inclusion & Experience ticket:

President Michael Winship

Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer Christopher Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)

Kathy McGee

James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Thank you for your consideration. I truly appreciate it.

BONNIE DATT

For five terms, I’ve served on the WGAE Council, working hard to protect writers’ rights and welfare; I’m also the Chair of the Awards Committee and a Co-chair of the Animation Caucus. These positions, along with my involvement in organizing, have afforded me continuous opportunities to be of service to my fellow members. I now believe that one of the best things that I can do to help secure the future of our Guild is to run for reelection on the Inclusion & Experience ticket with the group of candidates who I think offer the best possible leadership for our union going forward.

VOTE THE INCLUSION & EXPERIENCE SLATE

I am proud to be part of the Inclusion & Experience ticket, a diverse team of incumbents and newcomers, bringing both experience and fresh perspectives. We represent film, TV, broadcast and digital news and include seven BIPOC candidates, who if all elected, would bring the BIPOC representation from less than one tenth to one third of our Council.

The Inclusion & Experience slate is made up of Freelance candidates David Simon, Tracey Scott Wilson, Greg Iwinski, Lauren Ashley Smith, Tian Jun Gu and me, Bonnie Datt. Staff candidates Phil Pilato, Kathy McGee and James Harris, plus Presidential candidate Michael Winship, Vice Presidential candidate Lisa Takeuchi Cullen and Secretary Treasurer candidate Chris Kyle.

OUR PLATFORM

Why a slate, and why now? Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us. These are our top priorities:

FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

OUR SLATE ENDORSEMENTS

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

MY PHILOSOPHY AND EXPERIENCE

I believe it is crucial for our members to be represented by a strong union, which is why I’ve dedicated so much time to serving the Writers Guild. In the constantly changing media landscape, the WGAE must continuously protect and improve upon the rights of the writers we represent.

LOBBYING AND GUILD ACTIONS: I’ve repeatedly taken part in the WGAE lobbying of senior lawmakers in Washington, DC and Albany to promote national fair labor practices for freelance writers, the extension of the state’s production tax credit to diverse writers in New York and to create pandemic-related payroll support for digital news. I’ve been a WGAE Delegate to New York State AFL-CIO Conventions. 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 have also been a Captain for MBA negotiations and for the AMBA coordinated actions.

ANIMATION AND ORGANIZING: In 2012 I helped restart the Animation Caucus and became one of its co-chairs. I am currently working with my co-chairs on a new strategy to help organize animation writers. Over the 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 broadcast and digital news to give much needed protection to writers who have benefited from it. In some cases our successes have been dramatic and rapid, while in others we unfortunately have made little progress. Along the way, I’ve learned how important it is to be transparent in engaging our membership about how organizing impacts our union, now and in the future.

WGA AWARDS: I am the first female chair of the Awards Committee and have worked as a producer and writer on every WGAE Awards show since 2009. This year we broke new ground with the first digital and joint-awards that the WGAE and WGAW had ever co-produced, which allowed all members of both Guilds the opportunity to attend the event for free. Over the years, I’ve worked with the Guild’s staff, the rest of the committee’s members and the WGAW’s awards team to dramatically lower the show’s net-costs, while striving to produce an award show that’s entertaining, diverse and celebrates Guild writers.

BACKGROUND: 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 game, talk and animated children’s shows on the USA, Oxygen, PBS and Disney channels. In the world of new media, I co-created an animated short and was a long-time writer for the digital news site Racked. I’ve also worked as a story producer in nonfiction.

If reelected, I promise to continue building on my history of devoted WGAE service, working to serve my fellow members.

In solidarity,

Bonnie Datt

GENE KOPROWSKI

Candidate Statement for Gene Koprowski

Gene Koprowski is an award-winning documentary writer/producer, based in Chicago. He earned an Emmy Award Nomination (2008) for his work for Fox News Channel Digital, a Davey Award for his Bugs Bunny documentary for PBS-TV affiliates (2020), as well as the Telly Award (2020, 2021) for his documentary on filmmaker Frank Capra and for the Bugs Bunny documentary. Gene also wrote/produced/directed the review comedy show, MAKE AMERICA GAG AGAIN, at The Second City. The show was a parody of all things Trump in Trump’s America and had a successful run in the summer of 2019 in Chicago. Earlier in his career, he earned an AP Investigative Reporting Award from the AP Editors. In addition to writing/producing content as a freelancer for PBS-TV affiliates, he has also been on staff at WBBM/CBSNews Radio Chicago and was a columnist for six years for United Press International (UPI). He earned his master’s degree at University of Chicago, and completed his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University. He’s married, with one, adult daughter. He’s been a member of WGA since 1998. He and his wife own/operate an 24/7 all-streaming radio station called KLAK Digital, an affiliate of Fox News Radio.

BENJAMIN ROSENBLUM

WGAE Freelance Council Candidate Statement 2021

I am a member of the Solidarity Slate, along with Kim Kelly, Sara David, Hamilton Nolan, Lyz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, and Josh Gondelman.

I’m running for Freelance Council this year as the only nonfiction television and film representative with the goal of not only finalizing our own industry-wide union that the WGAE has been trying to establish for over a decade, but to use what we’ve learned from nonfiction’s unique experience and struggle to help all other Guild members and industries overcome their own issues. For those unaware, nonfiction television and film is one of the most exploited and vastly growing industries whose work is utilized across networks and streaming platforms today that includes popular genres such as docuseries, reality television, and documentaries, among others.

I hope you consider reading my Candidate Statement below, as well as voting for our entire Solidarity Slate, as this WGAE election cycle is one of the most important in recent history.

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There’s an old poem that some of us who’ve lived in New York may know all too well. It goes:

“OVERSLEPT, / SO TIRED. / IF LATE, / GET FIRED. / WHY BOTHER? / WHY THE PAIN? / JUST GO HOME. / DO IT AGAIN.”

It’s titled “The Commuter’s Lament/A Close Shave” by Norman Colp, and you can find it calling out all commuters in a subway connection tunnel between Times Square and Port Authority. Line by line, it spans the entire dreary walkway as you make your way through, forcing everyone to acknowledge the humiliating truth about life as we know it for a brief moment in our busy day.

I used to see this poem a lot when I first started working in nonfiction television nine years ago. At the time, I was an overworked, underpaid PA for a production company called Leftfield Pictures where I had to lug boxes of tapes across town to the network for weekly episode deliveries. As I trudged my way through the subway underpass amongst the speed-walking strangers, I’d read this supposed “poetry in motion” and begrudgingly relate to the depressing tale that was shoved in all of our faces. But even though I despised confronting this reality of what the working day really was, oddly enough, it kept me going. I feel like it kept everyone going. Although we were all alone in this drudgery, at least we knew we were struggling through the mundane routine together.

It’s one of many sad excuses that propels us forward with our heads down. And what else can we do anyway? That’s just the way it is.

Last summer, when I ran for WGAE Council on behalf of nonfiction television and film for the first time, we were in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic and economic crisis. The world literally stopped and was forced to change overnight to address these devastating concerns. Our social lives and the entire economy were all upended at a moment’s notice to try to deter the deadly contagion that was spreading like wildfire. Since then, although the immediate chaos and uncertainty has dwindled, our lives have changed considerably. And for those of us lucky enough to be working, an entirely new lifestyle forced itself into our age-old, mundane routine in the blink of an eye. Radical ideas like permanent work from home, Zoom meetings, and having a sliver more of free time became instantaneously normalized.

But beyond the discussion of whether this new way of work and life is beneficial or problematic, lies the true heart of Norman Colp’s lamenting dilemma, and what we should all seriously reflect on as we experience this wellspring of historic change together:

What the hell are we doing with our lives? And how can we actually make them better?

I’ve worked in nonfiction television and film for close to ten years, and I’ve dedicated the last seven of them trying to unionize my industry with the WGAE to help all of us desperate writers, producers, and other exploited workers get the things we need and deserve from our careers. Things that many of our fellow Guild members have already had for decades. I don’t condemn any member or industry for keeping their head down while this atrocious stagnancy has remained in our nonfiction organizing campaign. That’s just the way it’s been. But as we now know, that’s not the way it has to be.

The most prominent injustices we all face are right in front of us. Our own jobs, those that we pour our whole lives into, have consistent issues that continue to worsen and get exploited in new ways all the time due to the ever-evolving landscape of our industries. Fortunately, one of the keys to help mitigate these issues is already in our hands. We have a powerful union that has democratically elected Guild members in Council who are put in such an important role — to fight on behalf of everyone so that we can actually get the things we all need and deserve. Unfortunately, the solidarity needed in Council and our Guild at large to achieve these things, has seldom been apparent. And until we disrupt the toxic stagnancy of tradition, elitism, and fear that has plagued our working world, it will remain unseen, and we will all keep voting in these elections with our heads down. But I hope this year that things will change as the rest of the world changes with it.

The WGAE is filled with members who come from a multitude of industries, job titles, and pay rates that each have varied interests embedded in them. But if we can’t support each other’s basic livelihood and industries at large, the power and potential of our union will crumble. Even though we’re all struggling with our own forms of drudgery, it’s not enough to just blindly coexist in our efforts. We must assert ourselves and work together to fight against the norms that have held us all back. Otherwise, we’ll continue to look away when the next injustice comes along, until it gets humiliatingly plastered in front of our faces on another subway underpass.

I’m running for Council this year to disrupt the horrendous stagnancy we all face in our jobs, industries, and even our own union, by bringing about real substantive progress for everyone. My goals are to not only continue fighting for our much-needed nonfiction industry-wide union, but to help all others in the WGAE who need support, by all possible means.

On top of the promises and values I intend to keep and follow through with as a member of the Solidarity Slate, if elected to Council, I personally plan to fight to ensure that every dues-paying WGAE member always has and retains quality, affordable healthcare, especially during these very uncertain economic times and health crises that are upon us.

As I mentioned in my campaign last year, I encourage you to reach out to me through my website at http://www.benjamin-rosenblum.com to discuss any issues or ideas you may have about how we can all work together to fight for the things we all need and deserve.

If you’d like to read more about my seven years of organizing experience with the WGAE and the nonfiction industry, please read through my candidate statement from last year to get a better picture: https://www.wgaeast.org/council-elections/2020-election/candidate-statements/#rosenblum

And if you’re a nonfiction worker or are interested in supporting our nonfiction unionization effort with the WGAE, I encourage you to sign up for our Nonfiction Workers newsletter at http://www.nonfictionworkers.com

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SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

Please check out www.solidarityslate.com for more info on our Solidarity Slate.

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I’m grateful to be endorsed by Sara David, David Dayen, Ashley Feinberg, Kaitlin Fontana, Josh Gondelman, Jonathan Grupper, Liz Hynes, Dru Johnston, Kim Kelly, Henriette Mantel, Hamilton Nolan, Sasha Stewart, Kelly Stout, and David Van Taylor.

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SASHA STEWART

WGAE Council Candidate Statement 2021 – Sasha Stewart

I am a member of the Solidarity Slate (www.solidarityslate.com), along with Kim Kelly, Sara David, Hamilton Nolan, Liz Hynes, Josh Gondelman, and Benjamin Rosenblum. I’m also a member of the WGAE’s Committee for Inclusion and Equity and the WGAE Audio Alliance.

Hours before the biggest meeting in my life, one I had spent months preparing for, (not to name drop, but to name drop: I was pitching a six-part docuseries to Will Smith), I fainted in the hotel elevator outside of Universal Studios, and was gracefully caught by a man in a Minions t-shirt. It wasn’t nerves, it was cancer.

When I was diagnosed with lymphoma, my union health insurance was there (I’m a comedy writer but $60k for each round of chemo is no joke), but in some ways more importantly, my union was there. Chemo makes you feel like your insides are being scraped out with an ice cream scoop, but every step of the way, I was supported by my union, by you. You were there: commiserating about illness after our Alliance for Equity and Inclusion dinner, complimenting my wig at the holiday party, brainstorming new healthcare-based TV shows with me at the Women’s Salon (one of which is now in development!). This union has given me so much community, stability, and support that, when I was nominated for Council, I felt a deep well of responsibility to give back. That is why I am running for Council.

I’m a writer who has crossed many genres and fields in my nearly seven years as a WGA member: comedy/variety, hybrid drama-docuseries, YA scripted podcasts, documentary features, as well as scripted and unscripted development. No matter the medium, my work centers social justice and marginalized voices, and has given me the opportunity to work with talented, kind, and dedicated writers, many of whom have graciously endorsed me below. Unfortunately, I have seen too many times how dismissive our industry can be of these voices – despite making promises otherwise. We need to hold the industry accountable for the commitments they made in 2020 and have not kept in 2021. Equality is a practice, and our industry is falling behind.

That is what our Guild is for. We’ve organized writers in new industries, because many of us move through different mediums and want our healthcare and our union to travel with us. Let’s build on our success.

Continue digital media organizing, as well as organizing in the podcasting and animation booms. Let’s get in on this!
Treat the streamers as what they are: networks, and hold them to the same high standard – including residuals.
Continue working with Color of Change, the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity, the Geena Davis Institute, and other non-profits to make sustainable changes in hiring, promoting, and retaining writers who face discrimination.
During the pandemic, we’ve learned that remote rooms – while posing their own challenges – can also open new opportunities, especially for writers with children, writers with disabilities (like me), and all East members (finally, we can live where we want!).
And get the staffing portal – which the WGA East and West worked so hard to build – to be fully functional so all freelance members can find jobs, regardless of representation.

There is more forward-thinking vision in our Solidarity Slate platform below.

Please consider supporting me (and the Solidarity Slate) in your vote.

In Solidarity,

Sasha Stewart

Current: Development with Dreamville Studios, Swimsuit Competition, SOB Productions. Pre-production on a feature documentary.

Past: Amend: The Fight for America, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore

Should Have Been Union: The Fix with Jimmy Carr, Undivided ATTN, Daughters of D.C.

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SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

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I am endorsed by Cord Jefferson, Geri Cole, Alyssa DiMari, Kate Villa, Brooke Berman, Laura Canty Samuel, Holly Walker, Franchesca Ramsey, Hillary Jordan, Liz Hara, Moujan Zolfaghari, Jill Twiss, Jo Miller, Colleen Werthmann, Jordan Carlos, Michael Pielocik , Felipe Torres, Bethany Hall, Natasha Vaynblat, Lawrence Dai, Sahar Rizvi, Achilles Stamatelaky, Keisha Zollar, Ariel Dumas, Nate Charny, Kim Kelly, Hamilton Nolan, Liz Hynes, Dru Johnston, Josh Gondelman, Kelly Stout, Ashley Feinberg, Kaitlin Fontana, Sara David, Benjamin Rosenblum

DAVID SIMON

Hello, I am David Simon, a WGAE member since 1985, and I am proud to be running for reelection to the union council as part of the Inclusion & Experience Ticket, a slate of incumbents and newcomers that I believe includes decades of Guild leadership while at the same time doing much to foster more inclusiveness in our union’s leadership.

To be blunt, it was my intention — after the prolonged, exhausting, but remarkably successful union campaign against industry packaging — to step down from the council and allow a fresh voice to serve. However, I am inclined to seek a third term on becoming increasingly aware of a fundamental and important issue — that the very future of the WGAE rests on our successfully charting a careful course that will retain the union’s traditional purpose as a collective bargaining agent for screen, TV, and broadcast news workers, while at the same time continuing to aggressively organize writers in new digital and journalistic realms. I believe this issue to be of such importance that I hope my continuity on the council for another term can help arbitrate and negotiate these two elemental goals.

Aggressive organizing of the emerging digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the membership of the east-coast component of the Guild, with new sectors now approaching close to half of total membership. Having watched and supported this WGAE campaign for worker rights and collective bargaining for the last four years, I’m proud of the gains and want such organizing to continue.

At the same time, I’m entirely aware that the WGAE exists as the singular entity to represent the interests of those writing for the screen, for television, and for select broadcast news entities based in the East. A focused membership has allowed the WGAE to target member interests and undertake campaigns with the assurance that we are speaking for the majority of the membership — and as someone who has studied labor history, I am aware that the AFL-CIO secured its future by organizing on the basis of individual guilds, rather than the failed I.W.W. model of organizing any and all workers under the same flag. And as a former member of the NewsGuild for 13 years as a journalist, I am strongly supportive of that union and aware of the need for news reporters — particularly those engaged largely in prose or print work — to be properly represented by their own entities. I believe, above all, those successful guild units are carefully targeted toward specific industries and issues specific to those industries.

The time has now come for the WGAE to engage our full membership in discussing the future composition of our union — whether we can sustain continued organizing and still maintain our inherent purpose or whether we need to create structures or alternatives that maintain the WGAE’s context and history while at the same time aggressively organizing writers in the growing digital sectors. That will be a primary task of our council over the next two years.

To be clear, I have no interest in a solution that does not maintain a path for the WGAE to continue to support organizing; when writers anywhere gain strength and voice, we all do. And the WGAE has already done much essential work to launch an organizing effort that is beginning to transform the lives of writers in the digital sectors. We need to honor that while at the same time maintaining the core purposes of our union.

To address and resolve this complex issue, I am asking to serve again on the council for the coming term.

Please Vote for the Inclusion & Experience Ticket:

President: Michael Winship

Vice President: Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer: Christopher Kyle

Freelance Council Members: David Simon (i), Bonnie Datt (i), Tracey Scott Wilson, Greg Iwinski, Lauren Ashley Smith, Tian Jun Gu

Staff Council Members: Phil Pilato (i), Kathy McGee, James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

TRACEY SCOTT WILSON

My name is Tracey Scott Wilson, and I am running for a freelance seat on the WGAE Council.

I am very proud to be part of the Inclusion & Experience ticket, which represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

We face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us. These are our top priorities:

FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: Our ticket will result in the most diverse Council in WGAE history. We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

PLEASE VOTE FOR THE INCLUSION AND EXPERIENCE TICKET

President Michael Winship

Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer Chris Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato

(i) Kathy McGee

James Harris

MORE ABOUT ME: I have been member of the Guild since 2007. I served on the council from 2016 to 2018. I was a member of the Negotiating Committee as well as the Executive Committee. As a member of the Diversity Coalition, I helped lobby State Senators and Assembly members to modify the revenue-generating Empire State Film Production Tax Credit to include television writers and directors who are women or people of color.

MY CREDITS: I most recently wrote the teleplay for MGM’s upcoming film RESPECT based on the life of Aretha Franklin. On the TV side, I served as a Co-Executive Producer on FOSSE/VERDON at FX. Before that, I was a Co-Executive Producer on FX’s award-winning series THE AMERICANS, which I wrote for 4 seasons and received two WGA Awards, two Peabody Awards and a Golden Globe.

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Thank you for your consideration. I am honored to serve you during these extraordinary times.

LIZ HYNES

I am running as a member of the Solidarity Slate, along with Kim Kelly, Sara David, Sasha Stewart, Josh Gondelman, Benjamin Rosenblum, and Hamilton Nolan. You can learn more about our platform in full at solidarityslate.com.

Coming from a union family, I grew up routinely benefiting from the power of organizing — often in ways I didn’t understand or appreciate until much later, when I joined a union myself. The WGAE has materially changed my life, and I believe writers across all mediums deserve the same benefits we enjoy as members.

That’s why I was so surprised and disheartened to learn that some members of the Council had voted to deny membership to a news shop attempting to organize with us earlier this year. I was even more disappointed to learn that some of the same people who voted against this movement had run for Council on a platform that full-throatedly supported digital organizing.

This blatant hypocrisy is entirely out of line with what a union purports to do. It denies power to creative laborers who want and need a more powerful voice, and weakens our own solidarity from within. We cannot claim to be a union that fights for everyone if we subscribe to the false narrative that our own membership comes at the expense of other writers.

The act of organizing is often complicated and messy, but its effects are clear. The security we enjoy as Guild members today is the direct result of other members’ tireless efforts and willingness to risk reputations and livelihoods in the fight for a better future. Every single day, we reap the benefits of their labor and their sacrifices. At a time when labor rights are under unprecedented attack, the responsibility of serving on this Council is one I do not take lightly. I hope you’ll vote for all of us on the Solidarity Slate as we fight to grow and strengthen our union.

SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Transparency: Our union is a democratic institution. Council members are elected to work on behalf of the members. We must ensure that the Council is committed to open communication, not secrecy. We will also work to increase transparency in our industry, and to eliminate gatekeeping that harms marginalized writers.

Valuing our Comedy/Variety Members: Many freelance members in the WGAE work in comedy/variety. We will ensure their concerns have a robust voice on council, whether it’s negotiating the MBA, organizing new shops, increasing minimums, or obtaining residuals.

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

I am endorsed by: Sara David, Dru Johnston, Josh Gondelman, Kim Kelly, Ashley Feinberg, Benjamin Rosenblum, Sasha Stewart, Hamilton Nolan, Kaitlin Fontana, Kelly Stout, Cord Jefferson, Colleen Werthmann, Matt Whitaker, Michael Pielocik, Felipe Torres Medina, Nicole Conlan, Ariel Dumas, Asher Perlman, Jay Katsir, Eliana Kwartler, Eric Vilas-Boas, Meredith Haggerty

GREG IWINSKI

Hi! My name’s Greg Iwinski, and I’m incredibly excited to be running for WGAE Council.

If you don’t know me, I am a late night writer who’s currently at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and before that was writing at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I am passionate about Comedy/Variety, and in particular in how to grow and diversify that space in a changing landscape.

For over a year, I have been working closely with the Guild to develop documentation and practices that make sure tangible gains are secured for Comedy/Variety BIPOC writers — both to get into C/V rooms, and to stay there long term once they’re finally hired.

I joined the Guild like many of you, because I finally got my dream job of being a professional writer. But I got involved with the Guild during the Agency battle (some of you may remember me from those very long in-person meetings). That fight proved that together, we can and will change this industry for the good.

I’m also committed to fighting for better streaming residuals, both for C/V writers and across the board – if networks are going to market our streaming shows like they’re TV, they should pay us like it’s TV. Period.

We also need to begin the admittedly large conversation of Animation writers who find themselves outside of Guild membership. Many animation writers open up a script like anyone else in the Guild, but lack things any other TV writer would get – residuals or script fees. Again, this is a mammoth task, but for a Guild with as powerful an organizing arm as we have, it is an area in glaring need of attention.

I’m also running as part of The Inclusion & Experience Slate. One of the biggest reasons I joined was because 7 of the 12 spots on the slate are POC. That is real diversity in action, and I am proud to be a part of it. In this industry (and country) there are two kinds of diversity. One is when POC are given the opportunity to lead and excel; the other is when well-meaning white people take those spots, but promise POC can get them really soon. We are out of time for that second type of diversity. It is time for a Guild that embraces true representation.

The Slate’s Priorities Include:

THE FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

Please Vote for the Inclusion & Experience Ticket:

President: Michael Winship

Vice President: Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer: Christopher Kyle

Freelance Council Members: David Simon (i), Bonnie Datt (i), Tracey Scott Wilson, Greg Iwinski, Lauren Ashley Smith, Tian Jun Gu

Staff Council Members: Phil Pilato (i), Kathy McGee, James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

In addition I am personally endorsed by:

Michael Pielocik, John Thibodeaux, Jeannie Gaffigan

Thank you so much for your time!

– Greg Iwinski

2021 Candidates for Staff Seats

JAMES HARRIS

Greetings!

My name is James Harris and I’ve been a member of the WGA East since 2012. I am a digital news member, having joined the CBSN team at CBS News as Associate Producer in 2020 after spending nine years at WCBS as a Writer-Producer.

Covid-19, social justice and politics have shifted the television and media industry. Companies have used those elements to justify shrinking its staff in the most cost efficient way. I know first hand. Last year, members of a former management team chose to lay off dozens of my colleagues, including myself… most of us minorities.

It happened during the height of civil unrest after George Floyd’s death. I believe it was not coincidental. I called it out to management and the WGA, and it was handled appropriately. More work needs to be done! As a digital member, you well understand the difficulties lying ahead and I will be the best candidate to handle it. We need a strong WGA council that’s not afraid to speak up and protect its members.

Here are a few of my accolades and hobbies:

2021 Emmy Nominee- “Black History is OUR History” public service campaign (WCBS)
Past President of the Florida A&M University Alumni New York City Chapter
Attended Florida A&M University, (B.S. Journalism), 2005 and Troy University School of Graduate Studies (M.P.A.), 2010
Member of the National Association of Black Journalists
Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY resident (Bed-Stuy!)
Avid cyclist, loves animals, can play the trumpet, baritone, french horn and mellophone

Work Experience:

CBSN
WCBS (CBS Local Televisons Station Group)
Fox 5 Atlanta
AT&T Internet Advertising & Marketing (former member of CWA Union)
WEAR ABC 3
WTVY CBS 4
WTXL ABC 27
WCTV CBS 6
FL Gov. Jeb Bush Press Office
WANM 90.5 FM

Please vote for the Inclusion & Experience ticket.

Thank you so much for your consideration,

James Harris

Here is our vision:

FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions, and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

President Michael Winship

Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer Christopher Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)

Kathy McGee

James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

SELENA SIMMONS

My name is Selena Simmons. I am a broadcast designer for “World News Tonight” at ABC News and “Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” for CBS News. Currently, I serve as a volunteer CBS Diversity Committee member where I aide the company in changing policies to reflect a broader perspective based on gender, culture, etc.

Most recently, I met with the Viacom/CBS legal executives to discuss how we can create a better corporate culture. Through this process, I learned negotiation and that finding common ground helps bridge the gap between differences. I know these skills will help me in other areas like the WGAE Council.

Throughout my time at CBS News, I have championed for other causes like public health and safety. The pandemic has put everyone in new and uncharted territory. I felt it necessary to keep others safe by raising concerns about cleaning practices and the efficacy of products. Through this I, as well as others, have been able to work from home.

It was a surprise to be nominated for WGAE Council member. I hope to bring the same intensity to the WGAE Council seat, if elected. I would love to get involved to further move the needle in making change. Wage equality and safe workspaces are issues that are very dear to me.

I look forward to gaining your support in making our union a powerhouse in effective change.

HAMILTON NOLAN

I am a member of the Solidarity Slate. The other members are Kim Kelly and Sara David on the Staff side, and Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Josh Gondelman, and Benjamin Rosenblum on the Freelance side. I hope you will vote for all of us. Find us at solidarityslate.com.

Two years ago, a group of people successfully ran for this Council on a platform that promised support for “Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector.” Earlier this year, a number of those same people voted to prevent a news shop that wanted to join us from joining our union. This negative vote–the first of its kind since we began organizing this sector in 2015–had the effect of ending the Council’s implicit political support for new organizing in the media, forcing our efforts to organize this industry to grind to a halt.

In my four years as a Council member, disagreements have been common. But seeing such a harmful action taken with so little apparent concern for the consequences was the first time I have ever been ashamed of the actions of this Council.

In 2015, my colleagues and I at Gawker Media became the first online media company to join the WGAE. We were soon joined by over a thousand more media workers, creating a full-fledged union movement in our industry that has been celebrated as one of the most visible success stories in today’s labor movement. Hundreds of us have spent countless hours over the years doing the work of pushing this movement forward. We all put in this time in order to ensure that we do not just hoard the benefits of this union, but instead help to pass them on to all of the other workers who desperately need a union of their own.

In many cases, membership in this union has been the difference between someone being able to pay the rent and access good healthcare, or not being able to. That is not something to be taken lightly. Through new organizing, we can extend those benefits as widely as possible.

It has been dispiriting to see this vital work disrupted by a number of elected Council members who seem indifferent to its importance. Like many of you, I have often put my own reputation on the line to tell other writers why they should join the WGAE. I have been proud of this union’s commitment to organizing, fighting, and winning for the past six years. And I take the recent events that threaten that commitment extremely seriously.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Our union is not a zero sum game, in which one sector must lose in order for another to win. The diversity of industries that we represent is a strength, not a weakness. When journalists have had tough organizing campaigns, screenwriters have spoken out in support of us; when screenwriters had a hard fight against the Hollywood agencies, journalists stood with them; we have all come together to support the WGAE’s efforts to unionize nonfiction television, podcasting, and other areas where workers need us. We must continue this tradition of mutual support, which makes us all stronger. That is why the Solidarity Slate exists.

The members of our slate represent all parts of this union. We are committed to continuing the WGAE’s work of organizing the media, nonfiction TV, and related fields. We believe that it is our collective responsibility to help give the power of a union to as many working people as we can. We believe in using union power as a way to make our workplaces, our industries, and our society more equitable, diverse, and just. And we believe that the elected leadership of our democratic union should operate with transparency, not secrecy, so that important policy debates do not come as a rude surprise to our members.

The lesson of a union is that we are stronger together. The WGAE is a beacon of hope for the entire labor movement. With your solidarity, we can keep it that way.

THE SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Valuing our Comedy/Variety Members: Many freelance members in the WGAE work in comedy/variety. We will ensure their concerns have a robust voice on council, whether it’s negotiating the MBA, organizing new shops, increasing minimums, or obtaining residuals.

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

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I am endorsed by Kim Kelly, Ashley Feinberg, Josh Gondelman, Katlin Fontana, Kelly Stout, Sara David, Dru Johnston, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Benjamin Rosenblum, and Amy Sohn.

KATHY MCGEE

It has been an honor to serve as Vice President of the Writers Guild of America, East.

Our members continue to lead the way with historic gains for writers. We have changed television, film and news industries by achieving contracts with increased compensation, paid parental leave and diversity initiatives.

Our work is far from over.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE.

I have served on the WGAE Council since 2014 as well as the Committee for Inclusion and Equity (formerly Diversity Coalition). During the last two years I have been the only African American on the WGA East Council. We must do better. I am running for a council seat on the “Inclusion & Experience” ticket because I truly believe the WGAE can be more representative. Our ticket represents the future and would lead to the most diverse Council in WGAE history. Seven of the 12 candidates are BIPOC writers.

That’s only the beginning of our journey. We plan to push for additional gains for comedy/variety, features and animation writers in the next MBA negotiation.

EXPERIENCE.

My journalism career spans 30+ years with experience in television newsrooms across the country as a news producer and executive producer. Having worked in mostly non-union newsrooms, I know the value of being a union member. I joined the WGAE in 1997 as a newscast producer at WABC-TV, and in 2005 began work as a writer at WCBS-TV. I have been the shop steward for our newsroom since 2007. As a member of the WGA/CBS bargaining committee, I helped negotiate several CBS News contracts, including the bargaining sessions that resulted in CBS employees being added to the WGA pension plan. In addition, I have lobbied for contracts in digital newsrooms like CBSN streaming. The WGAE recently organized MSNBC in the broadcast news sector.

The next WGAE Council will face important questions about the Guild’s identity, purpose and future. I’m asking you to support the Inclusion & Experience candidates.

President: Michael Winship

Vice President: Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer: Chris Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)

Kathy McGee

James Harris

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

Thank you for your consideration.

-Kathy McGee

https://twitter.com/katmcgeenyc

KIM KELLY

WGAE COUNCIL STATEMENT 2021

Dear brothers, sisters, and siblings, I am a member of the Solidarity Slate, along with Sara David, Hamilton Nolan, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Josh Gondelman, and Benjamin Rosenblum. I hope that you will vote for all of us.

Some of you may know me from my work as a labor reporter for Teen Vogue, the Baffler, Esquire, and lots of other places; others may know me from my work organizing with the VICE Union (or seen my very, uh, spirited Twitter thread the day VICE laid me off). If we haven’t met yet, one thing I do want you to know about me is that I’m a third-generation union member, and that I care very, very deeply about our union. It has changed my life in so many ways, both materially when we won precedent-setting contracts at VICE (twice!), and more broadly as I’ve grown more deeply involved in the labor movement, grown in my role as an agitator and an organizer, and made it my life’s work to fight for the workers of the world. On a personal level, I’m also a disabled woman from a rural working class union family, where my dad’s union card was the only thing that kept us from utter ruin. I know the difference a union can make in a worker’s life, and how much cruelty it takes to deny them that right.

I’m running for my third term as a member of its council because I want to see our union grow, and thrive, and continue to be a force for good in an tumultuous, inequitable industry that sees us—the people who actually create all of its value—as expendable.

The WGAE has had such an incredible impact on so many workers’ lives, and it is imperative that our union be able to continue that work as the media continues to evolve and the already liminal barriers between its sectors continue to disintegrate. Organizing is the lifeblood of the labor movement, and bringing new workers into the fold is the only way to build and maintain a strong, fighting union. Every worker needs and deserves a union, and I want to ensure that the WGAE continues to be the best option for those who work in media—the journalists, screenwriters, nonfiction television writers, comedy/variety writers, podcasters, and many others who tell stories, shape our understanding of the world, and speak truth to power. The Solidarity Slate (www.solidarityslate.com) has brought together a diverse group of members from across multiple mediums—TV, film, and digital media—to fight for that vision, and to represent all of our members, because we are all media workers, and we are all in this together. That is what the labor movement is all about, and to be honest, that’s what the WGAE needs more of right now: honesty, transparency, and solidarity.

Every person on the Solidarity Slate shares that viewpoint, but a recent council vote made it clear that some members of this council—including several who are now asking for your votes in this election—do not. In fact, they worked in concert to force a vote that prevented a new shop from joining our union, and have effectively shut down new organizing entirely during this election period. I have been on this council for four years now, and have participated in many heated discussions, most memorably a resolution in support of political protestors, and one calling on the AFL-CIO to cut its ties with police unions (both of which I co-authored, and both of which were ultimately adopted). While disagreement is a necessary and healthy part of a democratic union like ours, that is not what this was. It was an effort by a group of powerful, privileged members to force through an anti-labor agenda at the expense of vulnerable workers who have now been left without a union, or any protections at all, as they continue to fight to organize. Those of us who protested, who called for another vote, who fought to bring these workers into the fold, were outnumbered, disrespected, and ignored.

So now, we’re running for council.

The Solidarity Slate’s platform is outlined below. Please feel free to reach out to me or anyone else on the slate with any questions, and I hope we can count on your vote. I do not say this lightly: this election is a battle for the future of our union, and I hope you join us as we fight for a brighter, bolder, more inclusive future.

SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

I am endorsed by Amy Sohn, Sara David, Ashley Feinberg, Josh Gondelman, Kaitlin Fontana, Kelly Stout, Hamilton Nolan, Dru Johnston, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Benjamin Rosenblum, Meredith Haggerty, Meg Driscoll, and Eric Vilas-Boas, as well as by Jacob Morrison, Secretary-Treasurer of the North Alabama Area Labor Council, and Kooper Caraway, President of the South Dakota AFL-CIO.

SARA DAVID

I am a member of the Solidarity Slate. (www.solidarityslate.com) The other members are Kim Kelly and Hamilton Nolan on the Staff side, and Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, Josh Gondelman, and Benjamin Rosenblum on the Freelance side. I hope you will vote for all of us.

The current sitting council recently voted to prevent a news shop from joining our union—the first vote of its kind since WGAE began organizing digital media in 2015. This negative vote sets a dangerous precedent that threatens our union’s values and livelihood, and I believe this is an urgent, WGAE-wide conversation all members should know about. Instead, this vote remains unknown to most rank and file members, seemingly swept under the rug even though its industry-wide implications reflect us all. This cannot continue.

Our council needs transparency with members if it’s to truly represent our interests, and we need pro-organizing representation—not just marquee names—to help our most vulnerable colleagues. The media industry is precarious and quickly consolidating, and the only way to help as many people and save as many jobs as possible is strong union density and solidarity. We must elect a council that will fight to help and protect all of us—not just a select few. That’s why we formed the Solidarity Slate.

We know that doing our best work requires entire ecosystems with writers, fact checkers, producers, editors, designers, and much, much more. We know that departmental divisions are deteriorating as media companies expand into TV and vice versa. We know that creating an imaginary division between screenwriters and journalists is nothing but an attempt to undermine solidarity and hoard the power of our union. A council that votes against organizing is antithetical to our values as a union and as people.

My life was transformed by our union: I am a queer immigrant of color and I know firsthand that a union contract can mean the difference between simply surviving and being able to lead a full life. Not only was I able to negotiate terms that immediately improved my quality of life with VICE Union, but I became a fierce advocate for workers. In the three years since I helped negotiate a precedent-setting contract with trans-inclusive healthcare and gender pronoun language, I helped organize the WGAE Industry-Wide Organizing Committee and facilitate monthly skillshares on topics like diversity and equity, and represented our union and industry at large for the AFL-CIO, the Working Families Party, and various organizing workshops. It would be my honor to represent you and our members, to help grow our union into what I already know it can be: a precedent-setting, unstoppable force for good—for real, positive impact in people’s everyday lives.

I promise to continue the work I am already doing with the WGAE, from organizing industry-wide calls to end NDAs to creating resources that help shops with contract negotiations. I will fight to grow our union and help all of our colleagues, who we rely on and work alongside every day.

The members of the Solidarity Slate represent all parts of the WGAE, and we are committed to continuing the work of organizing media. We believe in the power of our union, and that we are stronger together. Please vote for us to help give the power of a union to as many working people as we can. Vote for the Solidarity Slate (www.solidarityslate.com) to stand alongside your industry colleagues and use our collective power for good.

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SOLIDARITY SLATE PLATFORM

Support for the Labor Movement: The WGAE is part of the AFL-CIO and the broader labor movement. We will stay engaged on issues important to our movement, and to working people everywhere.

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I am endorsed by Kim Kelly, Ashley Feinberg, Josh Gondelman, Kaitlin Fontana, Kelly Stout, Hamilton Nolan, Dru Johnston, Liz Hynes, Sasha Stewart, and Benjamin Rosenblum.

PHIL PILATO

I’m Phil Pilato and I’m running once again for a seat on the Writers Guild East Council.

I am proud to be part of the Inclusion & Experience ticket, which represents majority BIPOC candidates (7 of 12), decades of Guild leadership and members who work in film, TV, broadcast news and digital news.

You may ask: why a slate and why now? Unbeknownst to many members, we face a time of unprecedented change in our Guild and we need a diverse and experienced Council to lead us.

These are our top priorities:

FUTURE OF THE GUILD: Aggressive organizing in the digital news sector over the past five years has dramatically changed the makeup of our Guild, with the news sectors now approaching 50% of the total membership. The rapidly changing composition of our union raises important questions and we think it’s long past time to engage the full membership in discussing these changes and charting the future identity and purpose of our Guild.

INCLUSION AND EQUITY: We will work tirelessly to make our industries more reflective of the world around us, advocating for equitable hiring, compensation and workplace practices.

MBA GAINS: We will push for significant gains in the next round of MBA negotiations, especially with respect to underserved sectors like comedy/variety, features and animation.

Please vote for the Inclusion & Experience ticket:

President Michael Winship

Vice President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

Secretary-Treasurer Chris Kyle

FREELANCE

David Simon (i)

Bonnie Datt (i)

Tracey Scott Wilson

Greg Iwinski

Lauren Ashley Smith

Tian Jun Gu

STAFF

Phil Pilato (i)

Kathy McGee

James Harris

To my fellow news writers:

We work long hard hours to get stories right. We’re professionals and deserve decent pay and benefits.

With a new administration that’s a friend of labor, one would hope changes would come to help every member of the Writers Guild — changes in labor law enforcement, net neutrality and health care. But in Washington, there are still those who cling to the failed policies of the last administration and fight to hold on to their power and prevent any change.

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 12 years, our union has grown as a result of this effort.

Hundreds of Digital News writers are now part of our union and are finally getting 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 fought with Governor Cuomo for the same thing and this year we may get the Diversity Tax Credit here in NYS.

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.

Over the past twelve 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.

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. And vote for the entire Inclusion and Experience Ticket. After all, it’s members who run the Guild and members who are the Guild.

The Inclusion & Experience Ticket is proud to be endorsed by over 200 members from all sectors of the Guild:

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The Council is the governing body of the WGAE, consisting of 19 members, plus the three officers (President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer).

Freelance members work in screen, television and new media, and Staff members work in news shops—television, radio and digital—under the Guild’s jurisdiction.

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2021 Candidate Statements

Candidate Statements for the 2021 Writers Guild of America, East Council Election have been posted below.

Each name links to that individual candidate’s statement.

The Officer candidates are as follows:

The eleven (11) candidates* for the six (6) open Freelance seats are†:

The seven (7) candidates* for the three (3) open Staff seats are†:

2021 Candidates for Officer Positions

MICHAEL WINSHIP

LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN

CHRISTOPHER KYLE

2021 Candidates for Freelance Seats

JOSH GONDELMAN

TIAN JUN GU

LAUREN ASHLEY SMITH

BONNIE DATT

GENE KOPROWSKI

BENJAMIN ROSENBLUM

SASHA STEWART

DAVID SIMON

TRACEY SCOTT WILSON

LIZ HYNES

GREG IWINSKI

2021 Candidates for Staff Seats

JAMES HARRIS

SELENA SIMMONS

HAMILTON NOLAN

KATHY MCGEE

KIM KELLY

SARA DAVID

PHIL PILATO

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