Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer (i)
I am running for another term as your Secretary-Treasurer.
Two years ago I took office after a bruising, factional election that left our leadership bitter and divided. My fellow officers and I were determined to unite the Council and keep our union strong and growing. To that end we organized a facilitation process with outside experts who helped us find a way forward. It took months of patience and hard work but, thanks to the commitment of our tireless Council members, we rewrote our constitution to ensure that all three sectors of our Guild are fairly represented in leadership and we approved a new organizing strategy—adding more organizers to staff and committing to grow the union in every area. More than a year after the members approved the constitutional amendments by a vote of 98% in favor, I am pleased to say our new governing plan is working well. Council members still disagree sometimes (of course), but we are finding our way to constructive compromise and cross-sector solidarity that benefits all our members. The best evidence of this is the astounding support our Film/TV members have received during the strike this summer from our Online Media and Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News members. That solidarity has been enormously gratifying to all of us on Council.
I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish over the past two years, but there is still much more to do. Here are my top three priorities for the next term:
- We need to win the strike. The struggles of 11,500 film and TV writers have resonated across the country this summer. Workers of all kinds are standing up to demand their fair share of the value they create and the tremendous support we have received from other unions, including IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, and the Teamsters, has made our strike more powerful than I could have dreamed on May 1. I am writing this on a plane back to Los Angeles for another round of talks with the AMPTP but I hope by the time you read it we will have secured a new contract with real gains that once again makes writing for film and TV a viable career for our members. If not, we’ll keep fighting. This is an existential struggle for the future of our profession. We cannot and will not surrender on our core issues.
- We need to continue to organize in all three sectors, focusing on promising targets in podcasting, nonfiction, streaming news, and online media. The organizing committee has done a terrific job over the past year, with new bargaining units formed at Pineapple Street Media, Crooked Media, BSTV, Story Syndicate, and CNET. And we are working on more targets in all three sectors.
- We need to keep improving staff services for members. During our period of rapid growth in new members, the services we provide in contract enforcement and general member support did not always keep up. We have added to staff over the past 12 months and continue to evaluate how members are being supported by their union. If you have suggestions on how the Guild can better serve the membership, please let me know (ckyle@wgaeast.org).
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Secretary-Treasurer. I look forward to working with my fellow officers and Council members over the next two years.
My Guild Experience: WGAE Secretary-Treasurer 2021-2023; 2023 Negotiating Committee (ex-officio); WGAE Council Member 2014-2020; WGA Screen Credits Review Committee, 2018-present; Writers Guild Initiative Treasurer, 2018-present; Writers Guild Initiative Board Member, 2012-2018; MBA contract captain, 2017 and 2020; new member mentor.
My Credits: Serena, Alexander, K-19: The Widowmaker, The Weight of Water, Homicide: Life on the Streets. As a playwright: The Monogamist and Plunge (Playwrights Horizons), The Safety Net (Broken Watch Theatre), Boca (Charlotte Rep). Guggenheim Fellow in Drama.
I am proud to be endorsed by: Chris Albers, David Auburn, John Auerbach, Ramin Bahrani, Henry Bean, Stephen Belber, Monica Lee Bellais, Nick Bernardone, Kyle Bradstreet, Adam Brooks, Kay Cannon, Larry Cohen, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, Bonnie Datt, Sara David, Justin DiLauro, Richard Dresser, Kate Erickson, Josh Fagin, Tom Fontana, Gina Gionfriddo, Josh Gondelman, Hallie Haglund, Ari Handel, James V. Hart, Melissa London Hilfers, Marcus Hinchey, A.M. Homes, Liz Hynes, Elizabeth Jennings, Jamal Joseph, Susan Kim, Gail Lee, Kathy McGee, David Barclay Moore, Marygrace O’Shea, Danielle Paige, Philip Pilato, Jason Rekulak, Erica Saleh, James Schamus, Bob Schneider, Tom Sellitti, Jim Serpico, Courtney Simon, David Simon, Sasha Stewart, Susanna Styron, Marjorie Sweeney, James Tyler, Jennifer Vanderbes, Michael Weller, Colleen Werthmann, Beau Willimon, David Levinson Wilk, Tracey Scott Wilson, Michael Winship, and Doug Wright.
* (i) denotes incumbent
