The Writers Guild of America East (WGA East) is one of two major labor unions representing writers and other staff working in the film, television, news, and other media industries. Along with its partner organization, the Writers Guild of America West (WGA West), WGA East has taken the lead on negotiating contracts with industry executives on behalf of its members since its founding in 1954, occasionally going on strike when attempting to force concessions. From its inception, the union has worked to expand its membership base, initially by incorporating writers and staff in the then-new and growing television industry in the 1950s. More recently, WGA East has fostered unionization campaigns at leading left-of-center news and commentary publications such as Gawker, Vox, Vice, and HuffPost, as well as at streaming service providers like Peacock TV and reality television producers like Sharp Entertainment.

WGA East does not limit itself to internal negotiations within the entertainment industry: to build support for its agenda, its activists also organize petition drives and public demonstrations, contact government officials, and generate publicity on social media. Unlike its West Coast counterpart, WGA East is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. ¹

Sibling Organization

The Writers Guild of America West, like WGA East, negotiates contracts with entertainment industry executives on behalf of its members. It also promotes other left-of-center causes in addition to labor organizing, just as WGA East does: The union’s public policy and political action committee tracks issues ranging from health-care policy to regulation of online communication. Internally, WGA West shares its counterpart’s commitment to advancing left-of-center race, gender, and sexual identity causes, maintaining an entire department responsible for combating alleged “systemic bias” within the entertainment industry. ²

History

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) East and its sibling organization WGA West were founded in 1954. One of its first major initiatives in its early years was supporting unionization among writers and other staff in the growing television industry. ³ Hollywood strikes were common long before the WGA affiliates existed. ⁴

In the early 2000s, both WGA East and WGA West went on strike during the first major dispute with studio executives over earnings from digital distribution programs. Deadline reported that the work stoppage, which lasted 14 weeks, “had a profound impact on the industry.” ⁵ Rolling Stone reported that the strike took place in reaction to the impact of then-new technology like DVDs were having on the industry. ⁶ One economic analysis found that the 2007 strike subtracted $2.1 billion from the California economy. ⁷

2023 Strike

In May 2023, both WGA East and WGA West went on strike for the first time since 2007. The same economist who analyzed the 2007 strike found that the 2023 strike had over $3 billion in negative economic impact, which CNBC reported was also likely to be a low-end estimate due to the widespread nature of the strike. ⁸

The WGA cited grievances against Hollywood studios and distribution companies: chief among them was the claim that employers were taking advantage of the shift from movie theater showings and television broadcasting to subscription streaming services to cut writers’ pay and cut them out of the production process. Representatives of the guild also claimed that the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence would lead to studios relying less on human writers and potentially eliminating large numbers of jobs in the industry. ⁹

Lawsuits

The WGA sued NBC in 2020, alleging violations of federal labor law because NBC was closing operations that resulted in union layoffs despite the media giant continuing to produce some programming in its Peacock division. ¹⁰

The WGA has also been on the receiving end of action from the entertainment industry. In June 2019, the talent agency William Morris Endeavor filed a lawsuit against both WGA East and WGA West, accusing them of coordinating a boycott in violation of antitrust laws. The agency also accused the unions of coercing other agencies into joining the boycott under the threat of losing business. ¹¹

Political Positions

In addition to its participation in the organized labor movement, WGA East has adopted left-of-center positions on other societal issues. In May 2022, following news that the Supreme Court was likely to issue a ruling against a right to abortion at the federal level, the union issued a statement equating abortion with “reproductive healthcare” and urging studios to “carefully consider” not filming in pro-life states. ¹²

WGA East also operates a committee which tracks the demographics of the entertainment industry and pushes studios to hire more writers on the basis of race, gender, and sexuality. In addition, the union maintains internal networking organizations which are reserved specifically for women, LGBT individuals, and members of racial-minority groups. ¹³

Leadership

Michael Winship is the president of the Writers Guild of America East. A career television executive, he has worked at PBS, CBS, the Disney Channel, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, and elsewhere. His work PBS included collaborating with left-of-center journalist, documentary producer, and Lyndon Johnson White House Press Secretary Bill Moyers. Winship also writes for the left-wing online publication Common Dreams, known for its frequently far-left opinion section. ¹⁴ In August 2023, Winship, who served a total of five terms from 2007 to 2017 and was elected again in 2021, announced that he would not run for re-election, claiming that the time had come to “pass responsibility to the new generation.” ¹⁵

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is the vice president for film, television, and streaming at WGA East. She has written scripts for Apple, Netflix, Warner Brothers, ABC, NBC, and other companies. Takeuchi chairs the union’s committee promoting demographic representation and equal outcomes. Previously, she was an overseas correspondent and staff writer for Time magazine. ¹⁶

Kathy McGee is the vice president for broadcast, cable, and streaming news at WGA East, as well as a member of the union’s networking group for Black writers. In addition, she is a producer for CBS New York, where she also works on race and gender identity initiatives. ¹⁷

Financials

In 2021, the Writers Guild of America East generated more than $9.8 million in membership fees and other program service revenue, up from just below $8.5 million the previous year. The union’s net assets in 2021 amounted to more than $14.7 million. ¹⁸

1. “What Is The Guild?” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://deadline.com/feature/hollywood-writers-strike-wga-explained-1235341146/
2. ^[1]“Guide to the Guild.” Writers Guild of America West. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/guide-to-the-guild
3. What Is The Guild?” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.wgaeast.org/what-is-the-guild/#:~:text=The%20Writers%20Guild%20of%20America%2C%20East%20is%20a%20labor%20union,%2C%20radio%2C%20and%20the%20internet.
4. Mallika Sen and Jennifer Farrar, “This isn’t the first time Hollywood’s been on strike. Here’s how past strikes turned out,” Associated Press. July 18, 2023. Accessed August 15, 2023.  https://apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123
5.  Tom Tapp. “WGA Strike Explained.” Deadline. May 3, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://deadline.com/feature/hollywood-writers-strike-wga-explained-1235341146/
6. Alan Sepinwall, “How the 2007-08 writers’ strike changed ‘The Office’ and ‘Breaking Bad’,” Rolling Stone. May 3, 2003. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/writers-strike-2007-2008-wga-change-tv-breaking-bad-the-office-friday-night-lights-1234727839/
7. Jennifer Liu, “Hollywood strikes have already had a $3 billion impact on California’s economy, experts say: It’s causing ‘a lot of hardship’,” CNBC. August 9, 2023. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/09/hollywood-strikes-have-had-3-billion-impact-on-california-economy-so-far.html#:~:text=Hollywood%20strikes%20have%20already%20had,causing%20%27a%20lot%20of%20hardship%27&text=People%20take%20selfies%20beneath%20the,2023%20in%20Los%20Angeles%2C%20California.
8. Jennifer Liu, “Hollywood strikes have already had a $3 billion impact on California’s economy, experts say: It’s causing ‘a lot of hardship’,” CNBC. August 9, 2023. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/09/hollywood-strikes-have-had-3-billion-impact-on-california-economy-so-far.html#:~:text=Hollywood%20strikes%20have%20already%20had,causing%20%27a%20lot%20of%20hardship%27&text=People%20take%20selfies%20beneath%20the,2023%20in%20Los%20Angeles%2C%20California.
9. Tom Tapp. “WGA Strike Explained.” Deadline. May 3, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://deadline.com/feature/hollywood-writers-strike-wga-explained-1235341146/
10. Kate Kilkenny, “WGA East files labor complaint against NBC over shuttered nonfiction unit (exclusive),” Hollywood Reporter. February 26, 2020. Accessed August 15, 2023.  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wga-east-files-labor-complaint-nbc-shuttered-nonfiction-unit-1281339/
11. David Robb. “WME Sues WGA For “Unlawful Group Boycott” In Violation of Antitrust Laws.” Deadline. June 24, 2019. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://deadline.com/2019/06/wme-sues-writers-guild-anitrust-hollywood-boycott-wga-1202637020/
12. David Robb. “WGA East Urges Producers To “Carefully Consider” Not Filming In States That Ban Abortion.” Deadline. May 5, 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://deadline.com/2022/05/roe-v-wade-wga-east-urges-producers-to-consider-not-filming-in-states-that-ban-abortion-1235017118/
13. “Inclusion And Equity.” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://dev.wgaeast.org/diversity/
14. ^[1]“Council.” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.wgaeast.org/council/
15. Jennifer Maas. “WGA East President Michael Winship Will Not Run for Re-Election.” Variety. August 1, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/wga-east-president-michael-winship-no-reelection-strike-1235684599/
16. “Council.” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.wgaeast.org/council/
17. “Council.” Writers Guild of America East. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.wgaeast.org/council/
18. Writers Guild Of America Inc 2021 Internal Revenue Service Form 990. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131773198/202310459349302441/full