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Meet Guild leadership and learn more about being a union member!

Making it as a professional writer is not an easy thing to do. And now that you've gotten your foot in the door, we want to make sure you have the information and resources you need to develop a successful professional career. As a new Current member, you’ll be invited to attend our New Member Orientation, where you’ll hear from a panel of experts who can answer both Guild and career-related questions.

New Current members are also eligible to participate in the New Member Mentorship program. This popular program connects you with a team of new members and an experienced, well regarded Guild mentor during your first year in the Guild.

By participating in the New Member Program, you will:

• Learn about your Guild rights and benefits, including minimums, residuals, credits, pension and health
• Connect with fellow writers as part of a mentor-led team
• Hear about some of the pitfalls you're sure to encounter in your career and how to deal with them

For information about the New Member Program, please email Scott Pulvirent or call (323) 782-4894.

Credits, Minimums, Residuals, Your Rights and more!

The Minimum Basic Agreement is the collective bargaining agreement which covers most of the work done by WGA writers. The terms are negotiated every three years by the Guild and its "bargaining partners," the companies that are signatory to the agreement. Read "What Every Writer Needs to Know" for a quick checklist of some of the rights to which you're entitled under the MBA. One of the Guild's main functions is to enforce the MBA as well as writing services and literary material purchase agreements with signatory companies. If you encounter a problem in one of the areas below, contact the Guild for help.

Other Contracts lists many of the other Guild agreements and documents vital to working writers including the Low Budget Agreement, Standard TV and Theatrical Contracts, Interactive Program Contract for videogames, public TV and newswriter agreements, and digital/new media-related documents.

Did you know that it's possible for a writer to buy back the rights to a script that's been optioned but never produced? It's true. Writers can reacquire scripts if they meet certain criteria.

Separated rights

If you write original material under Guild jurisdiction, the Guild's MBA provides you with certain additional rights. These "Separated Rights" differ for theatrical and television projects so if you believe you qualify for these rights and a signatory company might have violated them, contact the Contracts Department.

Creative rights

The Guild monitors compliance with the MBA's Creative Rights provisions to ensure that writers receive the rights we bargain for. These rights include being offered the opportunity to view a cut of a film prior to its being locked, participating in press junkets, and being invited to the premiere or film festival at which a picture is first exhibited. Contact the Creative Rights Department if you believe a company has violated your creative rights.

Credits

If you discover a problem with the writing credits accorded on a Guild project, contact the Credits Department. The Credits Department will investigate and demand correction of any violation of the MBA credit provisions. Find booklets and answers to questions regarding the credits process under Credits Manuals and Credits Forms.

Compensation

As a member, you're entitled to receive at least the Guild minimum compensation from a Guild signatory company for your writing services. Refer to the Schedule of Minimums for rates under the current contract. If a signatory company fails to pay you for writing services or for the purchase of your literary material, or if you see that your literary material has been used in a publication, piece of merchandise, videogame, or some other derivative use contact the Contracts Department.

Tthe WGA negotiates the MBA and works to make improvements to minimum compensation terms that benefit all writers. But the MBA only provides a floor from which better-than-minimum (or “overscale”) deals can be made. Minimums determine a portion of writers’ total pay, but overscale deals are critical to how writers make their year.

The Writers’ Deal Hub provides members with a centralized resource dedicated to helping them negotiate their individual overscale deals. Using contracts and other information primarily provided by agencies through the Agency Franchise Agreement, the Guild will publish guides on going rates for different work and other key individual deal terms. This information should help you leverage better overscale pay in your and your reps’ negotiations with the companies.

Residuals, script publications fees, etc.

Just what are "residuals" and how do they work? To find out, visit Residuals and read the "Residuals Survival Guide" and sign up for a myWGA account to track your Residuals Online. Read this FAQ, to learn how to sign up for direct deposit. If a signatory company fails to make any of the payments which you believe you are due, contact the Residuals Department.

Pregnancy and Parenting Leave

Writers on term contracts in episodic television are entitled to up to eight weeks of unpaid job protected parental leave for the birth of a new child, the adoption of a child, or the placement of a foster child. Find out more HERE or contact the Contracts Department.

Health Coverage, Pension and other good stuff

• Portable Healthcare
  The Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund provides medical, hospital, dental, prescription, vision, wellness, and life insurance benefits to eligible members and their dependents. You can check here to determine if you are eligible. As freelancers who work for many different companies over the span of a career, having a single well funded and generous health benefit program where all companies contribute is a hugely important in providing stability for both Guild members and their families.

• Portable Pension
  The Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan provides retirement benefits to its Participants or their Beneficiaries. Aggressive collective bargaining by Guild leadership and careful decision-making by the plan's trustees have enabled the pension to remain among the top programs offered to union members. The WGA pension offers an outstanding 48.3% multiplier to retirees meeting minimum eligibility at age 62, the highest rate of return in Hollywood.

• Credit Union
  Members of the Writers Guild of America West and their dependents are eligible to join the SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union (SAFCU). Because credit unions are nonprofit organizations owned by their members, they tend to offer more competitive rates on loans than you may find at a bank. SAFCU also offers traditional banking services online and at locations in Los Angeles, Burbank, North Burbank, and Sherman Oaks.

• The Guild Screenings
  Members receive free admission to The Guild Screenings, which consists primarily of new release movies along with special curated films reviewing the repertoire of a Guild-honored writer, a writer who is under-appreciated, current low-budget indies, documentaries, and other unique events. The writer, when available, will be present at these special screenings, for Q&A. Members are welcome to bring a guest.

• Script Registration 
  WGAW members in good standing can also register scripts and other material for $10, half off the price for non-members. Visit www.wgawregistry.org to register online.

• Discounts and Special Offers
  In addition to these benefits, check out these Special Offers for products, services and events exclusively for WGAW members.

Make sure your voice is heard

Since 2007 members of the Guild have volunteered their time, talent, and energy to serve as captains and stewards. These volunteers are responsible for communicating with and mobilizing a team of fellow writers to support the Guild's collective bargaining, enforcement, organizing, and public policy goals. Teams are organized in a variety of ways including worksites (writing rooms), or by genre, affinity group, or neighborhood. Field representatives from the Member Organizing Department convene meetings with captains and members in writing rooms, members' homes, and other venues. In the CBS news units, stewards serve the same function as captains and represent writers at each worksite. If you would like to explore serving as a captain or would like to be on a team, contact Member Organizing at (323) 782-4713.

Your vote matters!

Your union is a democracy, and it needs your participation to succeed. The very least any member can, and should do, is vote. The WGAW is run by a Board of Directors including three officers: President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer. They are all writers, like you, and donate their time in service of the Guild. The Board members and officers are responsible for setting the Guild's agenda and priorities, implementing changes and initiatives, addressing member concerns, and strategizing for the future. See the current list of officers and board members and contact them here. The minutes from the Board meetings can be obtained by contacting the Awards/Elections Department. The Constitution and By-Laws of the Writers Guild of America West contain the Working Rules that govern the Guild and its members.

Reaching beyond Hollywood

The Guild's Political Department provides members with up-to-date information about critical public policy debates, and the WGAW's positions and involvement in a host of issues, including combating piracy, media consolidation, Internet freedom (net neutrality), and independent production. The WGAW is committed to an effective public policy program that protects the financial welfare and rights of creative talent, and advances the interests of writers.

The WGAW 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. Click on the link to get information, contribute, and get involved. (You must have a MyWGA account to view this page.)

Learn from other writers

Written by, the Guild's official publication, is a site about and for you, the WGAW members.

3rd & Fairfax, our official podcast features information and updates about the Guild and interviews with top writers. Subscribe to the Guild’s YouTube channel to watch Guild panels, video interviews with screenwriters, and other screenwriting-related content.

Need hard-to-find technical information for your next script or project? The Ask the Expert: FYI Listings provide contact details to individuals and organizations that have volunteered to answer writers’ questions about their field of expertise.

The ultimate writers’ resource

The Writers Guild Foundation is a non-profit educational organization whose programs include the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library, a writer-focused collection of scripts and other materials related to writers and writing. Founded in 1984, the library is now home to over 30,000 items consisting of produced film, television, and radio scripts – many of which have received major writing awards – books, periodicals, DVDs, videos, a digital script-reading facility, and other materials on the history, biography, art, craft, and business of writing for entertainment media. Search the catalog and get information about library hours as well as Foundation classes, seminars, events, and other projects on their website.

Showrunner training and advice for screen and TV writers

Check out Guild publications that contain vital information about the MBA, your career, and your rights as a Writers Guild member. Titles include Creative Rights for Writers, the Credits Survival Guide, Understanding Separated Rights, and What Every Writer Needs to Know.

Conducted in partnership with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the highly successful WGA Showrunner Training Program is designed to help senior-level writer-producers and recent creators hone the skills necessary to become successful showrunners in today’s television landscape. Providing invaluable instruction from current showrunners and other industry professionals, the program has helped produce many successful results.

Opportunity for all!

The WGAW feels strongly that writers from diverse backgrounds should have a chance to succeed in film and television. The Inclusion and Equity Department encourages positive change in hiring practices and to increase awareness of the unique obstacles often faced by diverse writers.

The Inclusion and Equity Department works with WGAW member committees to develop events which range from panel discussions on various aspects of the craft of writing to networking opportunities. Go to the Guild Calendar for a list of upcoming events and contact the Inclusion and Equity Department to find out how to become involved.

See the Inclusion and Equity Department’s Resource List for further industry talent development opportunities.

Active members are the lifeblood of the Writers Guild. Please contact Member Organizing to talk to someone about ways that you can get involved today. We encourage you to be active and to participate in the community of writers. You are the WGA. Your involvement and efforts will help to strengthen the Guild.

More information that you could possibly need

Posted monthly, the Guild Calendar lists all WGAW and Writers Guild Foundation-sponsored events. Watch video of past WGAW events on the Guild Panels page. With its goals of working to preserve and promote excellence in writing, and advancing the recognition of the writer’s contribution to the art of film and television, the Foundation sponsors craft workshops, interviews, panel discussions, receptions, festivals, and many other writer-oriented events. You can reserve a seat at WGFoundation.org.

Since 1948, the Guild has honored the outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio writing at the annual Writers Guild Awards, which are often seen as a precursor to the Oscars®. If you have questions regarding eligibility rules or the awards show, call (323) 782-4569.

Finally, follow the WGA West on social media to keep abreast of news, members-only events, find links to writer-centric articles, see WGAW photos and video, and more: X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Tik Tok.