The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) is a labor organization representing writers in film, television, and other media. It helps writers register intellectual property, negotiate contracts, and receive benefits. The WGA has a history of strikes and was founded in 1921 as the Screen Writer’s Guild. The organization split in 1954 to create WGA-East and WGA-West. The WGA helps members negotiate contracts and secure residuals. It also maintains an intellectual property registry and supports authors across various entertainment industries. Despite misconceptions, most WGA members earn modest salaries and rely on supplementary work.
The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) is a labor organization represented by two major branches, WGA-East and WGA-West. Collectively, these two branches represent auteurs of film, television, and other forms of media. The WGA helps writers register their intellectual property, negotiate fair contracts, and receive a variety of benefits. Several times in the history of the WGA, the group has called workers’ strikes that brought the entertainment industry to a halt.
The WGA has its origins in 1921 when it was known as the Screen Writer’s Guild. The first Guild was more of a friendly association that hosted parties, awards and other events for members of the writing community. However, in 1933, the fledgling American film industry tried to initiate a major pay cut for screenwriters, and the Guild fought back, becoming an active labor organization fighting for its members, regardless of gender, race, or creed. The first WGA was heralded by many labor historians as one of the most active and socially conscious unions in the United States.
As new media such as television developed, the Guild’s focus expanded and in 1954 it split to create WGA-East, headquartered in New York City, and WGA-West, with offices in Hollywood. Both organizations work to protect their members, and nearly every writer in the entertainment community is a member of the WGA, from writers who create television scripts to writers in the animation field.
The WGA helps its members with several aspects of contract negotiation, including benefits, film credits, and similar matters. The organization has worked collectively to secure basic residuals for authors, which means that every time their material is aired or sold, they earn a small share of the profits. Residuals are extremely important to writers, as individual payments for scripts aren’t enough to realistically survive. Many strikes and contract disputes for WGA members have centered around residuals, including the November 2007 strike.
The WGA also maintains an intellectual property registry, helps establish pension funds and supports authors across a wide range of entertainment industries. This incredibly strong union is also supported by other unions, including the teamsters and the Screen Actor’s Guild.
Many people are surprised to learn that writing in entertainment is not very profitable. According to the WGA, approximately 45% of its members are unemployed at any given time, and the vast majority of WGA members earn fairly modest salaries. A handful of entertainment writers certainly make large sums of money, but most authors rely heavily on supplementary work and off-cuts to keep doing the work they love.
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