The members of the Writers Guild of America West are engaged in an unusual vote this week on the advisability of banning two of their own – Roma Roth and Edward Drake – for having pretended to make “writing services” during the strike in 2023.
Membership is also invited to maintain disciplinary movements against two others, Julie Bush and Tim Doyle, which are not able to expulsion. The vote will end at 2 p.m. Friday.
In an email to members on Wednesday, the member of the WGA board of directors, Rob Forman, acknowledged that it was a delicate situation.
“I know that it is deeply uncomfortable to vote on the discipline of other writers, especially during this horrible contraction,” he wrote.
But, he urged membership to “join me to keep these responsible writers” to break the rules of the guild, “and to reject the apology of the disciplined members for having injured the guild by turning their backs on their writers’ colleagues during the strike.”
A vote of this kind is extremely rare. The WGA West expelled a writer, Larry Amoros, in 2013, but he did not appeal, saying that he had already resigned. After the WGA 2007-08 WGA strike, Jay Leno was informed of the prevailing allegations, while three others were disciplined. Forman said that there had been no appeal from a disciplinary issue in the past two decades.
There has also been a certain internal dismay to find out if the process has been fair.
Doyle faces public censorship to publish an insipid joke on Facebook. His lawyer argued that the WGA went beyond his powers by making the police his speech on social networks. Its test committee – The five voluntary editors responsible for concluding violations of the rules – recommended a lower and confidential censorship as well as a certain training on actions and inclusion. The Council canceled this recommendation in favor of public discipline.
One of the members of the trial committee opposed the process strongly, appealing it a “gross overcoming”. Doyle was disciplined under article XA Section 1 of the WGA Constitution, which authorizes sanctions for “any conduct detrimental to the well-being of the guild or the dealing injustice of another member of the guild”.
In a “minority report”, the dissident member of the trial committee argued that the use of this language to censor the discourse of the members would subject everyone to “the whim of five members of the test committee selected at random”.
The member wrote: “I think that the board of directors and Guilds have chosen to intentionally distort and arm the provisions of our Constitution in order to send a message and punish a member of the guild.”
In three of the four cases before the members, the WGA board of directors imposed a higher sentence than that recommended by the test committee. In the fourth case, the trial committee recommended that Roth be expelled for working on “Sullivan’s Crossing” during the strike.
But a member of this committee, Jill Goldsmith, refused to sign the penalty, saying that the process was not “fair and appropriate”. Goldsmith agreed that Roma had violated the rules and said it agreed with the initial recommendation by the five -year suspension committee.
After this recommendation was approved, Goldsmith allegedly alleged that a guild lawyer Laura Raden informed the committee that no penalty would have an “impact” on Roth’s career. This led the committee to reconsider and support the more rigid expulsion sentence, allegedly allegedly.
Goldsmith, a former public defender, argued that the discipline could indeed have an impact on Roth’s career and that the process had been badly tainted by the representation that it would not.
“I believe that before expelling a member and making a decision that can affect their lives and their livelihoods, an appropriate process must be put in place,” she wrote. “Systems could be put in place to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Under the constitution of WGA, members can call on any discipline imposed by the Council at the next annual members’ meeting. The Constitution also provides that the disciplined member, or his lawyer, can speak in person at the meeting and that the result will be determined by a person in person of the members.
The WGA West has not had an annual meeting since April 2019 and has not planned. Thus, when the calls were filed, the board of directors adopted a resolution to organize an online vote, rather than a person.
Bush, who received a one-year suspension for having submitted a script to a non-signatory company during the strike, argued that the board of directors could not unilaterally modify its call process in half. She maintains that this would lead to a change in the Constitution, which requires a 2/3 notice and a vote of the members.
She also argued that online vote exposed its alleged violation to the whole guild and to the general public, rather than limiting it to members who choose to attend a closed -door meeting.
“The replacement of this forum in person guaranteed by an asynchronous online ballot eliminates the opportunity for live discussion, debate and transparency, which are fundamental for a fair call
Process, “she wrote to the board of directors in a letter of request on April 30.
The disciplined members were authorized to submit written arguments and responses to the WGA arguments, which were shared with all members.
The WGA lawyer argued that the Constitution is subject to the interpretation by the Board of Directors and that the Constitution authorizes postal or online bulletins if a quorum cannot be reached during a membership meeting. The board of directors decided to replace the online process after having decided that it would not be able to obtain a quorum, which is equivalent to 10% of active membership.
Bush argued that non-compliance with governance procedures is a potential violation of the law on labor management and disclosure reports.
“I reserve the right to degenerate these questions from the Ministry of Labor if it is not resolved in a timely manner,” she wrote.
Nicole Yorkin, another member of the Board of Directors, sent a message on Wednesday to her friends of the guild exhorting them to refuse calls.
“The vote is now open (until Friday) on disciplinary actions linked to the guild strike,” she wrote. “Please vote to comply with the decisions of the WGA board of directors in these questions and encourage your friends member of the WGA to do the same!”
