If you’re a screenwriter, or aspiring to become one, you’ve likely heard of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The union is the loudest, most persistent voice in Hollywood trying to keep the art of screenwriting as a sustainable, respected career. Becoming a member is a huge win for any scribe hoping to carve out a place in the industry.
So, how do you get in? We’ve got all the details below.
The Writers Guild of America represents and protects professional screenwriters during negotiations with the film and television producers that hire them. This includes fighting for consistently fair minimum pay, residuals that evolve with the times, proper credits, and health care for its members. In addition to movies and TV, the WGA has shifted over the years to include unscripted programs, documentaries, news, animation (which also has its own guild), new media, podcasts, and video games.
Before there was a WGA, there was the Screen Writers’ Guild. Officially formed in 1921, it was only formally recognized as a labor union in 1933 thanks to the plans of 10 writers: Kubec Glasmon, Courtney Terrett, Brian Marlow, Lester Cole, Samson Raphaelson, John Howard Lawson, Edwin Justus Mayer, Louis Weitzenkorn, John Bright, and Bertram Bloch.
In 1954, due to the increasingly complex nature of the entertainment industry, the union split into two branches: Writers Guild of America, East (for all writers living east of the Mississippi River) and the Writers Guild of America, West (for everyone west of the river).
Types of WGA membership
The WGA has several membership categories:
- Associate: A writer who has not yet received the amount of credits to fully join but does pay a $100 annual fee to receive some guild benefits.
- Current: A writer who has amassed the necessary amount of credits and pays full dues. Essentially, this means you’re in the guild.
- Post-Current: A former “current” member who no longer has the requirements but does pay the annual fee to receive associate-level benefits.
- Emeritus: A former member who does not opt for post-current status.
Only current members can vote in guild elections and run for guild office—in exchange, they pay an initiation fee plus annual dues based on the amount they worked. Membership and its requirements are mostly the same between the WGAE and the WGAW (but if you have any specific questions, it’s always best to check their respective websites for the most relevant information).
Anyone who has been hired by a “signatory” company—one that has signed the union’s collective bargaining agreement—to do WGA-eligible work can join at an associate level. However, to qualify for current WGA membership, you must have earned a minimum of 24 “units” during the three years preceding your application.
What is a unit, exactly? The guild has a whole system breaking it down, and you can amass the necessary units in several different ways:
- 2 units: A complete week of employment “within the Guild’s jurisdiction” (say, in a writer’s room).
- 3 units: The story for a TV or radio program that’s 30 minutes long. Anything less and units are prorated in 10-minute increments (so, 20 minutes would be 2 units).
- 4 units: The story for a short theatrical film of any length or for a TV or radio program between 30 and 60 minutes.
- 6 units: A 30-minute TV script; the format for a new serial/series; or a “Created By” credit given under the WGA’s basic agreement.
- 8 units: A screenplay for a short theatrical film; a TV script between 30 and 60 minutes; or the story for a “non-primetime serial” between 60 minutes and 90 minutes.
- 12 units: A TV script between 60 and 90 minutes; the story for a feature-length theatrical film; or the story for a radio or TV program longer than 90 minutes.
- 24 units: A feature-length theatrical film screenplay; a TV script longer than 90 minutes; or the “long-term story projection” (a TV bible) for either an “existing, five times per week non-prime time serial” or any TV serial/miniseries of at least four hours.
As you can see, there are many ways to become WGA-eligible over three years. You can slowly amass units over weeks and months as a writers’ assistant, but if you sell a feature-length screenplay, you’re in. There are also one-half units earned for a rewrite, polish, or option on any of the applicable credits above. For example, if you’re hired to rewrite a TV script between 60 and 90 minutes (12 units), you’d earn 6 units.
It’s worth noting that, if your job is covered by the jurisdiction of the WGA but not for a “signatory” company, you could also caucus and organize with the guild in order to gain its support (for more information on that, click here).
WGA membership cost
Joining the WGA at the associate or post-current level costs $100 a year, but it only gives you access to certain things, not the full breadth of the union’s services. For that, once you’ve amassed your 24 units, you pay a $2,500 initiation fee, plus quarterly dues, which are based on how much you worked and/or earned from residuals that quarter. You are required to declare your earnings every quarter, even if you had no earnings.
But how does the guild know what you owe? Well, there’s an equation for that: According to the WGA, “Dues are calculated at 1.5% of earnings (including residuals), plus ‘basic dues’ of $25 per quarter (payable even if you have no compensation or residuals in the quarter).”
In short: yes, absolutely. Not only has the WGA sought tirelessly for years to ensure writers are respected and compensated, but if you work with one of the major U.S. studios, you’ll very likely have to join the union in order to get paid. You can absolutely work overseas or with non-signatory companies and not join the WGA, but it’s worth noting that union organizing is a net positive for society, as collective bargaining is what got us protections in the first place. After all, if it weren’t for unions, we wouldn’t have free weekends, overtime, or 40-hour work weeks. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about all that, due to unions like the Writers Guild of America.
