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Wednesday, September 10, 2025
WGA West Accused of Firing Staffer for Union Activity
variety.com: The Pacific Northwest Staff Union won voluntary recognition as the bargaining representative for 110 WGA staffers in April. The staff are now seeking greater job protections as part of their first contract.
3 comments:
Henry Kane
said...
This article doesn’t give a whole lot of specific information about the accusation of a union staffer getting fired but it does show its readers the importance of union organization in the 21st century. I think it’s ridiculous that we’re still dealing with anti-union sentiments in the big 25 and that discrimination against union workers and organizers is still happening. Employee organization is a right everyone in America has and the fact that predatory action is being committed against unions in the 21st century is disheartening, especially in the world of entertainment. The writers' strike that lasted the entirety of the summer of 2023 made a lot of good progress but not enough if this is the kind of treatment that union employees are receiving. I just think this shows that no matter how much progress we make, with our government controlled by union hating politicians and corporatists and oligarchs Americans will always have to fight to have a say in the work we do. I think that this fight is important and vital to the continuation of this country and hope people like those of the PNWSU continue to fight the good fight for years to come.
There is a great amount of irony in what seems to be happening at the Writers Guild of America West in that they are dealing with union issues internally when they themselves are working to represent the writers of America. While the article does not speak about the situation that led to the termination of one of their staff members, one would think that the WGA West would have the appropriate tools and understanding to work through their staff members concerns and union representation and proper organizing to protect their rights along with writer’s rights, but alas it seems not. I’m interested to see if this will develop further or if their staff union will be able to achieve their needs despite the initial comments in the article that demonstrate that the WGA will be open to discussion and amendable to making a deal, especially when more discussion for writers will be coming down the line in 2026. Let’s hope they can get their act together so they can properly support writers moving forward.
I think this article is so telling of the current state of affairs within the entertainment industry at this point in time. Additionally, it’s quite foreboding of what more could be to come in the following months and years. The WGA West has been an integral part of the writing field within the entertainment industry, and though there has always been conflict to an extent between unions and entertainment companies, it’s really sad to see employees let go for uncertain reasons, with suspicions of their firing being due to union leadership activity. Especially for the WGA, I think it’s more important than ever that they organize as a union and are supported by the public and the companies they represent. With conversations of generative AI taking over for writers in entertainment, right now is a historic turning point that could determine the future of writing in entertainment on a global scale.
3 comments:
This article doesn’t give a whole lot of specific information about the accusation of a union staffer getting fired but it does show its readers the importance of union organization in the 21st century. I think it’s ridiculous that we’re still dealing with anti-union sentiments in the big 25 and that discrimination against union workers and organizers is still happening. Employee organization is a right everyone in America has and the fact that predatory action is being committed against unions in the 21st century is disheartening, especially in the world of entertainment. The writers' strike that lasted the entirety of the summer of 2023 made a lot of good progress but not enough if this is the kind of treatment that union employees are receiving. I just think this shows that no matter how much progress we make, with our government controlled by union hating politicians and corporatists and oligarchs Americans will always have to fight to have a say in the work we do. I think that this fight is important and vital to the continuation of this country and hope people like those of the PNWSU continue to fight the good fight for years to come.
There is a great amount of irony in what seems to be happening at the Writers Guild of America West in that they are dealing with union issues internally when they themselves are working to represent the writers of America. While the article does not speak about the situation that led to the termination of one of their staff members, one would think that the WGA West would have the appropriate tools and understanding to work through their staff members concerns and union representation and proper organizing to protect their rights along with writer’s rights, but alas it seems not. I’m interested to see if this will develop further or if their staff union will be able to achieve their needs despite the initial comments in the article that demonstrate that the WGA will be open to discussion and amendable to making a deal, especially when more discussion for writers will be coming down the line in 2026. Let’s hope they can get their act together so they can properly support writers moving forward.
I think this article is so telling of the current state of affairs within the entertainment industry at this point in time. Additionally, it’s quite foreboding of what more could be to come in the following months and years. The WGA West has been an integral part of the writing field within the entertainment industry, and though there has always been conflict to an extent between unions and entertainment companies, it’s really sad to see employees let go for uncertain reasons, with suspicions of their firing being due to union leadership activity. Especially for the WGA, I think it’s more important than ever that they organize as a union and are supported by the public and the companies they represent. With conversations of generative AI taking over for writers in entertainment, right now is a historic turning point that could determine the future of writing in entertainment on a global scale.
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