Political and Legislation Program

The WGAW’s Political and Legislation Department advocates on public policy issues of direct concern to writers and the Guild and also oversees contributions to the WGAW PAC. Our goal is to educate and organize broad support among WGAW members and provide Guild members with access to elected representatives and other government officials. We foster member participation in the political process, including testifying before legislative and regulatory bodies, writing op-eds, blogs, articles and letters to elected officials in order to influence opinion and public policy. Working with coalitionpartners our goal is to enhance the WGAW’s independent voice on behalf of our writers/members.

WGAW ADVOCACY AGENDA 

Freedom of Speech
Oppose all efforts to censor content and advocate for the creative rights of writers.

Health Benefits, Pension Protection and Other Labor Rights
Ensuring fair treatment for labor-management benefit plans and fair procedures for workers who wish to form and join unions for the purpose collective bargaining.

Independent Production
Open up distribution so that independent producers can thrive again in the entertainment industry.

Media Consolidation
Prevent further corporate concentration of the country’s media, and, when possible, work to repeal detrimental decisions made by previous legislative and regulatory bodies.

Net Neutrality
Keep the Internet free from corporate gatekeepers and open to anyone interested in distributing legal content.

Piracy Prevention and Copyright Protection
Defend copyright protection and support efforts to eliminate piracy, through graduated response and enforcement regime.

Product Integration
Monitor the growing use of embedded advertising in television and film and protect writers’ creative and financial interests.

WGAW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC) FAQ 

The WGAW federal Political Action Committee (PAC)allows WGAW members to make voluntary contributions to a fund that works to elect public officials who are sympathetic to the difficulties of making it as a professional writer. The PAC includes: President, Chris Keyser; VP, Howard Rodman; Sec/Treasurer, Carl Gottlieb; Exec. Director, David Young; WGAW Credits Department Director, Lesley Mackey McCambridge, and members-at-large, John Aboud, Marjorie David, Michael Oates Palmer, Billy Ray, Thania St. John and Patric M. Verrone. Members wishing to learn how they can support the PAC may click here.

(A member’s account is required to view this page.)

 

FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE  

Public Policy Filings
To see a list of recent public policy filings submitted by the WGAW in support of the creative and economic interests of our members, go here.