WGAEmpowered

Our Goals

Last year, you gave the candidates of WGAEmpowered a mandate to heal the rift between East and west and to work for real change in this union. We seized that mandate, made peace, and continue to forge a strengthened relationship with our brother and sister writers in the west.

This year, we ask you to expand your mandate to a new slate of members running under the aegis of WGAEmpowered.

Once again, we assure you that WGAEmpowered will not automatically vote as a bloc, and we will not suspend our individual opinions and judgments on any issue. But we can also assure you that we will work to advance the interests of writers, and to infuse the Guild and the Council with the energy, experience and commitment it takes to secure those interests.

With a year of effort behind us, the CBS and ABC contract negotiations ongoing and the 2007 MBA negotiations ahead of us, the members of WGAEmpowered renew our promise to be accessible and responsible to union members. We also ask you for your commitment to remain involved and to share your concerns with us as your elected representatives.

Your ideas, your energy, your time and effort are truly needed. The more active you are, the stronger the Guild becomes.

John Auerbach - Walter Bernstein - David Steven Cohen - Gina Gionfriddo - Andy Meppen - Marianne Pryor - Bob Schneider - Michael Winship

Our Slate
Bio	John Auerbach How does a union whose current deal doesn’t even properly address 1970’s technology such as basic cable television handle 21st century innovations? By organizing and empowering its membership…. (more)
Bio	Walter Bernstein …now our energy (and brains) can be totally devoted to fighting the studios and networks instead of each other. And all our energy and brains will be needed for the upcoming negotiations. (more)
Bio	David Steven Cohen We must bring our members as well as our colleagues in other creative unions and guilds into an increasingly singular and solid orbit." (more)
Bio	Gina Gionfriddo It's imperative that we claim our fair share of emerging technologies, while taking great care that the deals we make take into account that today's "new media" is tomorrow's VHS. (more)
Bio	Andy Meppen `The stalemate in ABC and CBS contract negotiations is one example of the corporate effort to break our union. And a preview of the upcoming 2008 MBA negotiations.` (more)
Bio	Marianne Pryor I’d like to build on what I’ve learned and the connections I’ve made to make sure there’s better communication between the union and my colleagues at ABC news and at other news shops. (more)
Bio	Bob Schneider …one of our main tasks moving forward is to solidify the health and pension funds so that our MBA negotiations will not be held hostage in the years to come. In addition I have suggested that we begin to meet informally with the labor trustees from the other unions. (more)
Bio	Michael Winship Despite the shell games, the creative accounting and financial sleight of hand the other side will attempt, our motto must be: We won’t be fooled again (more)