The writers strike may be grabbing all the headlines, but there’s another important event happening within the WGA West. The officer and board election is underway, and the candidates are using the guild’s election site to express their views on a wide range of issues. While Meredith Stiehm, running for re-election as president, hasn’t posted her statement yet, the other candidates have plenty to say.
One candidate, Rich Talarico, a highly acclaimed writer and producer known for his work on Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele,” is focused on achieving transparency in writer payments and accounting practices. He believes that writers often face confusion when it comes to payment charts, royalty checks, and compensation systems. According to Talarico, it’s nearly impossible for writers to understand where and how their work is being offered, consumed, and compensated for under the current model. He aims to change that.
Talarico also highlights the importance of clear access to streaming numbers for writers, especially as studios increasingly become streamers themselves. He believes that unions and companies need to establish clear standards for monitoring streaming use to ensure fairness for both writers and studios.
If you want to read Talarico’s full candidate’s statement, you can find it here.
In addition to these concerns, Talarico has been fighting against a contract provision that allows for the “ongoing and persistent abuse” of five-minute promotional clips of TV shows. He argues that these clips significantly harm writers’ potential compensation. Using the example of “Key & Peele,” he points out that billions of views on promotional excerpts have resulted in minimal compensation for the writers. Talarico believes that flooding potential customers with endless free samples without proper compensation actually deters viewers from paying for the full content.
In his statement, Talarico compares these promotional clips to a visit to Panda Express, where the manager offers chicken on a toothpick to entice purchase. He suggests that studios should avoid over-saturating the market with unpaid promotional clips, as it undermines the value of the writers’ work.
Overall, the candidates in the WGA West election are not only united in their support for the writers strike but also passionate about addressing various concerns within the industry. It’s an important election that will shape the future of the guild and the rights of writers.Writers were hired to create TV shows, not endless web-shows masquerading as ‘promotion.’”
He’s also campaigning on expanding the guild’s jurisdiction to cover reality shows; ending free work during the pitching and development process; ending mini-rooms and granting full membership and voting status to “post current” members who haven’t worked in recent years.
Michele Mulroney, a member of the guild’s negotiating committee who’s running for re-election as vice president, said in her statement that “The inter-union solidarity during our labor action has been nothing short of historic. The support and sacrifice of so many sibling unions – both inside and outside of the entertainment business – has helped to sustain us through our MBA Negotiation cycle. When the time comes, we must reciprocate and stand by them. Nurses, teachers, Amazon warehouse workers, janitors; we are one union family! And of course, the WGA will stand in solidarity when IATSE, the Animation Guild and Teamsters fight for fair contracts in their negotiations.”
The guild’s board, she said, must also “keep its eyes on the horizon in this next term and be hyper-vigilant in future-proofing our Guild against the tide of incoming changes that will impact our business and writers’ livelihoods. The streaming services are launching AVOD options, but hot on their heels are FAST channels like Pluto TV, Tubi, Freevee whose user numbers are rapidly catching up with AVOD. Writers need their fair share of these revenue streams.”
And artificial intelligence, she said, “is going to be a dominant issue for years to come. The WGA must work hand in hand with our sister unions and experts in the field to assess the evolution of the large language models (ChatGPT and others) that threaten to decrease job opportunities for writers, suppress writer pay, and use writers’ work without their permission. Through our political action committee, we must advocate for appropriate regulatory and legislative actions to protect our members and the wider creative workforce from the abuses of this new tech.”
See her full statement here.
Her opponent, Isaac Gómez, who’s currently serving as a strike captain, said he accepted the nomination for vice president “because, to be frank, I did not see myself reflected amongst our core leadership. Why does this matter? Well, according to our Inclusion & Equity Report released in 2022, writers of color joining the Guild has increased dramatically over the last ten years – nearly half of our Guild is comprised of writers of color – making our union the most racially diverse it’s ever been.
“And yet, there are no people of color in our core leadership positions (President/Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer), and there has not been one in several years. There have been many instances in my time as Strike Captain and Writers Room Captain where I’ve had to bring issues writers of color were experiencing to the forefront as some decision-making processes weren’t taking into consideration their specific needs, and the needs of other underrepresented writers.”
“Writers facing housing insecurity, on food stamps, and experiencing unemployment for months at a time is at its absolute high,” he says. “Negotiating for fair and equitable contracts with the AMPTP is one part of it. But what happens after? How do we ensure economic sustainability throughout periods outside of contract negotiations?
“Right now, the Guild has a plethora of financial resources for writers in need, yet many writers aren’t aware of their existence or – due to paperwork anxiety and trauma – are unable to pursue those resources. I am committed to finding alternative ways of communicating resources available to the writers most in need – early career writers, working class writers, and writers of color. As Vice President, I intend to hold monthly workshops where we partner with Financial Advisors and Tax Accountants who hold seminars on best practices for financial management, growth, and sustainability.”
See his full statement here.
Betsy Thomas, who’s running for re-election as secretary-treasurer, said that she’s running for one more term “because it’s essential that we do not change course with our leadership right now.”
As the current chair of the Membership & Finance Committee and the Strike Fund Committee, she said that “we are in the middle of very, very important work to ensure giving financial support currently to as many of our members as we can, while balancing wanting to ensure that the same financial support will be there for members up to six months after the strike is settled. Our committee is very thoughtful, compassionate, but never forgets our responsibility to the entire membership to be fiscally diligent in the process.
“But what I have seen in the hundreds of loan applications is a story of why we are on strike: members who have worked on two or even three shows a year – or have been doing six months of free rewrites on a script they sold – who cannot afford their reasonable rent, are facing thousands of dollars in credit card debt and even hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loans.
“Or the member who had been working as a part of a team on a 16-week streaming gig at minimum, whose parent falls ill and they suddenly need to support them, and they have exhausted their savings with no hope to handle the insanely high Los Angeles cost of living.
“Or there’s the writer who has been a dues-paying member for 30 years, who after twenty yearsThe world of network television is changing, and with it, the livelihoods of those who rely on it. The shift to streaming employment has caused many in the industry to lose their income and residuals. It’s a tough situation, but one that we must face head-on.
One individual who understands the importance of this struggle is a member of the WGA. They believe that all the sacrifices made in the past months must lead to a contract that secures a future for everyone. They can’t wait for the day when this struggle is behind them, but in the meantime, they remain committed to achieving victory. Their leadership experience has taught them that the WGA is an extraordinary group, and they are honored to be a part of it. Together, they can overcome any obstacles and reach the finish line.
On the other side of the election, Jeffrey Thompson is campaigning to end abusive behavior in the film and TV industry. He recognizes that while writers face many challenges, one threat stands out – abuse within the industry. This abuse often comes from fellow writers who misuse their power to intimidate and manipulate others. Those who are abused are left with a difficult choice – stay silent and tolerate the mistreatment or speak up and risk being blacklisted. Thompson believes that the guild must protect the most vulnerable among them and foster a culture of safety and understanding. Without this, any gains made in negotiations are meaningless.
The guild has released the names of all the candidates running for officer and board positions. Alongside the officer candidates, there are 20 individuals nominated for open seats on the board of directors. These candidates include Molly Nussbaum, Danielle Iman, Maggie Levin, and many others. Guild members will have the opportunity to vote and will receive voting materials on August 29. The voting period will end on September 19, and a Candidates Night forum will be held on August 30 for members to ask questions.
Change is happening in the industry, and it’s up to the members of the guild to come together and shape the future. By standing united, they can overcome the challenges they face and create a better, safer environment for all.