<!-- Include all unused fields for future use. See
Infobox Union for usage. -->
Writers Guild of America, West (
WGAW) is a
labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Guild was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, which include the
Screen Writers Guild. In fiscal year 2009, the WGAW reported it had 19,354 members.
History
The
Screen Writers Guild (SWG) was formed in 1921 by a group of ten
screenwriters in Hollywood angered over wage reductions announced by the major film studios. The group affiliated with the
Authors Guild in 1933 and began representing TV writers in 1948. In 1954, the SWG was one of five groups who merged to represent professional writers on both coasts and became the Writers Guild of America east and west. Howard J. Green and
John Howard Lawson were the first two presidents during the SWG era.
Daniel Taradash was president of the WGAw from 1977 to 1979.
In 1952, the Guild authorized movie studios to delete onscreen credits for any writers who had not been cleared by
Congress, as part of the industry's
"blacklisting" of writers with alleged
Communist or
leftist leanings or affiliations.
From March to August 1988,
WGAw members were on strike against the major American television networks in a dispute over
residuals from repeat airings and foreign/home video use of scripted shows and made-for-TV movies....
Read More