Congrats! You’re Eligible to Join the WGA! Now What?
If you’re a screenwriter chances are you will eventually consider joining the WGA (The Writers Guild of America). Maybe you’ve written a script that was just optioned, or you were staffed on a series and are wondering if you’re eligible to join the union. Or maybe you’ve been hired to write for a company who is a signatory of the WGA (either East or West) and are required to join.
Whatever your situation is, every writer should become a member when they’re eligible (having the power and benefits of a union behind you is always a good thing). That being said, when you first look into the WGA, it can be a bit overwhelming and frankly confusing (how do you get all of those “required units” anyway?).
Below is some WGA info to help you decide if now’s the right time to ‘go WGA’, if you’re even eligible to join, and what the union can do for you:
So what is the Guild anyway?
The Screen Writers Guild was founded in 1921. It was the result of ten film writers who were fed up by their wages being reduced by the studios. TV writers were added in 1948, and then it formally became the Writers Guild of America in 1954. Today, the Guild has thousands of members who work in a huge number of formats.
What can the WGA do for me?
The WGAs main purpose is to protect writers by enforcing the collective bargaining agreements it has negotiated on behalf of its members. In promotion of this, the Guild provides three main services, the Minimum Guarantee, Credit Protection and Residuals.
What is the minimum guarantee?
The ‘minimum guarantee’ is a dollar amount the Guild has negotiated with networks, studios, and streaming services to be the minimum they are legally allowed to pay a WGA writer. So if you are a member you will never be paid less than that minimum. The minimums are based on the format you’re writing in (theatrical, network, basic cable, premium cable, streaming, new media, podcasting, etc) and the platform it’s viewed on. To figure out your ‘specific situation’ you can go on the Guild website and check out the Schedule of Minimums.
Residuals
Residuals are compensation paid to a writer for the reuse of that credited writer's work. Which means you get paid every time your work is made viewable for an audience. The amount is usually small, but residuals can add up - especially once you have a few projects in circulation. This used to be how television writers sent their kids to college, but now with the rise of the streamers, residuals are rare – they prefer to “buy you out”, give you all the money up front. Broadcast networks still pay residuals. The amount you are paid for residuals is determined by your writer credit. Which brings me to -
Credit Protection
Credit refers to how you are ‘credited’ on a project (some examples are ‘written by’, ‘story by’, etc). The producer submits their suggestion for credit to the WGA, and then the WGA ultimately decides who gets credit on any particular script. For example, if there are multiple writers, the Guild decides who gets credit (if all writers don’t share credit). If you disagree with their decision, you can call for arbitration. If you want to know more about writer credits and arbitration check out my post Writing Credits: What they Mean and Why they Matter.
Other WGA Perks
The WGA’s main functions are listed above, but there are other perks to membership: Excellent health insurance, a pension plan (rare in this day and age), education opportunities and you get to vote for the WGA awards (which means free access to screeners!).
All of this sounds great, when can I join?
To join you have to have acquired “24 units” any time during the three years prior to applying. There are different ways to acquire those units (which we’ll talk about it in a minute), which means there really is no one way to be Guild eligible. That being said, the following are the two most common types of membership:
Associate: You are eligible to join if you have sold a script, or are hired to write a script by a Guild signatory company but don’t have all the required units yet. You would then pay $100 per year for three years as you work your butt off to collect the remaining units you need for full membership. As an associate you don’t get all the privileges of a full member. But you are put on the mailing list, you can participate in committees, and attend lectures.
Current: If you are eligible to be a current member it means you’ve satisfied the unit requirement. Congratulations! Once you pay the $2,500 initiation fee, you’re in and all the rights and privileges of membership are yours.
Dues:
Because the Guild protects your rights and does so much for you as a writer you are required to pay annual dues. How else would they pay for the health care, pension fund, legal fees for the collective bargaining (and free screeners)?
Breaking down ‘the unit question’:
The “24 units in the preceding 3 years” eligibility requirement can be daunting to figure out. Here are the basics:
The unit system is broken down by your specific situation (whether you’ve sold a script to or been hired by a Guild signatory company).
You get a set number of units for writing each of the following: a screenplay, teleplay, radio play, bible, breakdown, story, rewrite, polish and an option. The number of units calculated depends on the length and type of project (theatrical, television, etc.).
You can also be credited 2 units for each week you are hired as a writer for a signatory company ( Which means all it takes is 6 weeks of work and you’ve acquired enough units to become an associate member!).
Or you can get all 24 units at once if you sell or are hired to write a feature length screenplay for theatrical release, a teleplay or radio play that is 90 minutes, or you are hired to write the bible for a television serial or primetime miniseries that is at least four hours long.
If you are hired to write a one hour TV script, but not hired to be “on staff,” you’ve earned 12 units. If you are on staff, then you get the script plus the weekly hire units…
The list of ways to acquire your units is endless (and I wasn’t kidding when I said it depends on your specific situation). In a nutshell, sell a feature length script, or get staffed on a TV show and you’ll be invited to join the Guild immediately. Write stories, bibles, breakdowns, etc. and you’ll get there eventually.
Are you a WGA member, what’s your advice for new and prospective members? Let me know @CaroleKirsch!
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