Get Started with the Start Button Dashboard Dashboard

Help the Guild help you get paid on time with this simple and effective online tool.

(12/18/2020)

Last spring, the Guild launched the Start Button to give screenwriters working on assignment—and TV writers working on pilots—a simple way to record when they begin working on a draft and when it’s delivered.

The Start Button enables you to inform the Guild when you begin work on a step and when the draft is scheduled to be submitted, enable follow-up when payment for your writing is due, and request assistance if you are paid late or asked for free work.

“Once the Guild knows that you have ‘started’ your step, it's so handy to get that auto-reminder that it's time to turn in your draft,” says WGAW Secretary-Treasurer Michele Mulroney. “If you're being paid late, you can plug in that information and the Guild can then help you to chase down that payment. And if delivery of your draft is delayed because you're being asked to do free work, you can let the Guild know. That way we can keep track of employers and producers who regularly ask for uncompensated work, and the Guild can reach out to support you in turning in your draft when you are ready to do so. I find these reminders and the follow-up by Guild staff to be so useful."

It’s one of many ways the Guild is taking on the problem of late pay. Under the new Franchise Agreement, agencies share contracts, invoices, deal memos, and other information directly with the Guild. This information is used to ensure that writers are paid on time and, if payment is overdue, to pursue both late pay and interest. In most instances, the MBA requires payment within seven days of commencement or delivery, and interest accrues at the rate of 1.5% per month until the late payment is made. This year, the Legal Department has collected tens of thousands of dollars in interest for writers, including several interest payments in excess of $10,000 for individual writers.

Mulroney adds, "The Start Button was originally developed with feature writers in mind, but I encourage all members to get into the habit of using it. If you're a member like me who is not currently repped by a franchised agency (these reps are required to provide the Guild with contracts and invoices under our Franchise Agreement), the Start Button is the simplest way to let the Guild know—in real time—that you have commenced a new step in your writing contract.”

Watch the video below to learn how Start Button works.

Get started with Start Button now or use the link on your myWGA Account.

If you have been paid initial compensation late, or not at all, the Guild’s Legal Department is here to help you. Just call (323) 782-4521 or contact the Late Pay Desk.

To make a claim for outstanding residuals, please visit the Residuals Payment Inquiry Desk.