Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen laid out the East Coast faction of the WGA‘s current top priorities in a memo to members Monday, the one-year anniversary of the 148-day writers strike.
Takeuchi Cullen says the three “immediate goals” for the WGAE, which just concluded a new election cycle, include: “pushing showrunners, production companies and studios for East-based writers’ rooms by letting them know that writing services are covered by the film/TV production tax credit in New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Illinois”; “fighting back against the scourge of unpaid development”; and “making sure lower-level and marginalized writers aren’t left behind.”
“We are navigating the post-strike landscape in film and TV. Our solidarity over the 148-day strike won film and TV writers a groundbreaking contract addressing the existential threats to our profession,” Takeuchi Cullen wrote in the letter to members obtained by Variety. “This summer, we held a series of member gatherings to hear your experiences and concerns over the year since. Members reported benefiting from contract gains including staff-writer script fees, higher pay in pre-greenlight rooms and MBA terms for Appendix A in streaming, but for many the top concern remains getting back to work.”
Elsewhere in the memo, Takeuchi Cullen told members that WGAE council reps recently met with the Department of Labor to discuss the ongoing slew of layoffs hitting the media and news industries “to shine light on this insidious trend and to push for policies protecting news workers.”
Read Takeuchi Cullen’s letter to members in full below.
Dear WGA East —
A year ago this week, our 2023 MBA strike ended. With those historic gains in place, your elected WGA East Council has worked hard to create a better, stronger Guild for all of us. Your union is member-led, meaning your volunteer leadership makes important decisions that our excellent staff works to implement. With elections completed and a new Council in place, I wanted to take a moment to share with you just a bit of what we are doing.
We hired a new Executive Director. Appointing our top executive is among the most important tasks of elected leadership. Over the course of six months, Council worked with an executive search firm to vet dozens of impressive candidates. In the end we chose Sam Wheeler, a labor lawyer and entertainment-union leader with a clear, strategic vision for WGAE’s future. Sam started his job in April. Have you met? Reach out to him at [email protected].
We are navigating the post-strike landscape in film and TV. Our solidarity over the 148-day strike won film and TV writers a groundbreaking contract addressing the existential threats to our profession. This summer, we held a series of member gatherings to hear your experiences and concerns over the year since. Members reported benefiting from contract gains including staff-writer script fees, higher pay in pre-greenlight rooms and MBA terms for Appendix A in streaming, but for many the top concern remains getting back to work. To that end, our three immediate goals are: 1) pushing showrunners, production companies and studios for East-based writers’ rooms by letting them know that writing services are covered by the film/TV production tax credit in New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Illinois; 2) fighting back against the scourge of unpaid development; 3) making sure lower-level and marginalized writers aren’t left behind. This work is ongoing, so please stay tuned and keep in touch with your captain (need a captain? Contact Michelle Kuchinsky at [email protected]). In the meantime, we continue to build resources and initiatives to support film and TV members, which you can find here.
We created an AI Task Force. After winning the first AI protections of any labor union with our 2023 MBA contract, we launched an AI Task Force with members from all three sectors. The Task Force meets monthly to track and research AI’s effect on our professions and to shape actionable ideas. We are also pursuing federal and state legislation in conjunction with our union allies. Do you belong in our AI brain trust? Reach out to me at [email protected].
We are protecting journalists. Corporate owners have ramped up efforts to weaken and even dissolve hard-fought contracts for our news members, particularly through mergers and acquisitions. We are fighting back with collective bargaining agreements that include strong provisions on severance and successorship. Council reps also met recently with top Department of Labor officials to shine light on this insidious trend and to push for policies protecting news workers.
We are organizing strategically. In 2022, Council created a new Organizing Committee to consider, vet and approve new targets for staff to pursue. Our current focus is largely on nonfiction TV and podcast companies. Internal organizing within existing shops is increasingly key to counter industry consolidation and contraction; that’s how we won powerful contract gains at Sesame Workshop, Crooked Media, iHeart Podcast Network, the Civic News Company and Pineapple Street Studios. In the year ahead we’ll negotiate with PBS, Vox Media, Story Syndicate, WNET Thirteen and more.
We are improving our office space. When our lease came up for renewal, a Council committee considered a move — but decided to remain in our current Hudson Street offices when our landlord offered unbeatable financial incentives that included renovation funds. Soon you will see more user-friendly member spaces and staff will enjoy a more efficient and modern workplace.
We are updating our technology. The office renovation will greatly improve our virtual member meetings and events. We are also in the process of overhauling our website and member databases for efficiency and security, as well as digitizing our outdated filing system. Film/TV members can soon expect the long-awaited roll-out of direct deposit for residual checks.
We are in this together. Always remember your union isn’t an institution or an office or even our brilliant, hard-working staff…your union is you. Council members donate their unpaid time and energy to represent you. So if you have an issue or concern or idea, tell us — and help make it happen. Reach out to me ([email protected]); your sector VP (Film & TV: Erica Saleh, [email protected]; Broadcast News: Beth Godvik, [email protected]; Online Media: Sara David, [email protected]); Secretary-Treasurer Chris Kyle ([email protected]); or Council ([email protected]). We urge you to attend our many events, workshops and gatherings. Join a committee or Salon. Talk to your captain or shop leader — or better yet, become one.
The WGA East is a fighting union and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of it. Thank you for your continued trust in me, your Council and your Guild staff.
In solidarity,
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
President
Writers Guild of America East
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