Members of the Writers Guild of America West are engaged in unusual vote this week on whether to banish two of their own — Roma Roth and Edward Drake — for allegedly performing “writing services” during the 2023 strike.
The membership is also being asked to uphold disciplinary moves against two others, Julie Bush and Tim Doyle, that fall short of expulsion. The vote will conclude at 2 p.m. on Friday.
In an email to members on Wednesday, WGA Board Member Rob Forman acknowledged that it’s an awkward situation.
“I know it’s deeply uncomfortable to vote on disciplining other writers, especially during this horrible contraction,” he wrote.
But, he urged the membership to “join me in holding these writers accountable” for breaking guild rules, “and reject the disciplined members’ excuses for hurting the Guild by turning their backs on their fellow writers 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 he had already resigned. After the 2007-08 WGA strike, Jay Leno was cleared of strike-breaking allegations, while three others were disciplined. Forman said there had not been an appeal of a disciplinary matter in the last couple of decades.
There has also been some internal consternation over whether the process has been fair.
Doyle is facing a public censure for posting a tasteless joke on Facebook. His attorney has argued that the WGA went beyond its powers by policing his speech on social media. His trial committee — the five volunteer writers tasked with adjudicating rule violations — recommended a lesser, confidential censure along with some equity and inclusion training. The board overruled that recommendation in favor of public discipline.
One of the members of the trial committee strongly objected to the process, calling it a “gross overreach.” Doyle was disciplined under Article X.A. Section 1 of the WGA Constitution, which allows penalties for “any conduct which is prejudicial to the welfare of the Guild or of unfair dealing with another member of the Guild.”
In a “minority report,” the dissenting trial committee member argued that using that language to censure members’ speech would subject everyone to “the whim of five randomly selected trial committee members.”
The member wrote, “I feel that the Board and guild counsel have chosen to intentionally misrepresent and weaponize provisions of our Constitution in an attempt to send a message and punish a member of the guild.”
In three of the four cases before the membership, the WGA board imposed a higher penalty than was recommended by the trial 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 that committee, Jill Goldsmith, refused to sign off on the penalty, saying the process was not “fair and proper.” Goldsmith agreed that Roma had violated the rules, and said she concurred with the committee’s initial recommendation of a five-year suspension.
After that recommendation was approved, Goldsmith alleged that a guild lawyer, Laura Raden, informed the committee that no penalty would have an “impact” on Roth’s career. That caused the committee to reconsider and support the stiffer penalty of expulsion, Goldsmith alleged.
Goldsmith, a former public defender, argued that the discipline could indeed impact Roth’s career, and that the process had been improperly tainted by the representation that it wouldn’t.
“I believe that before expelling a member and making a decision that can affect their life and livelihood, a proper process needs to be put in place,” she wrote. “Systems could be put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Under the WGA Constitution, members may appeal any discipline imposed by the board at the next annual membership meeting. The constitution also provides that the disciplined member, or their attorney, may speak in person at the meeting, and that the outcome will be determined by an in-person vote of the members.
The WGA West has not had an annual meeting since April 2019, and does not have one scheduled. So when the appeals were filed, the board adopted a resolution to hold an online vote, rather than an in-person one.
Bush, who was given a one-year suspension for submitting a script to a non-signatory company during the strike, has argued that the board cannot unilaterally change its appeal process in midstream. She argues that would entail a change in the constitution, which requires notice and a 2/3 vote of the membership.
She has also argued that the online vote exposed her alleged violation to the entire guild and to the general public, rather than limiting it to the members who choose to attend a closed-door meeting.
“Replacing this guaranteed in-person forum with an asynchronous online ballot eliminates the opportunity for live discussion, debate, and transparency, which are fundamental to a fair appeal
process,” she wrote to the board in a demand letter on April 30.
The disciplined members were allowed to submit written arguments and replies to the WGA’s arguments, which were shared with the entire membership.
The WGA counsel has argued that the constitution is subject to interpretation by the board, and that the constitution allows for mail-in or online ballots if a quorum cannot be reached at a membership meeting. The board decided to substitute the online process after deciding that it would be unable to obtain a quorum, which equals 10% of the active membership.
Bush has maintained that the failure to adhere to the governance procedures is a potential violation of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
“I reserve the right to escalate these issues to the Department of Labor if not resolved in a timely manner,” she wrote.
Nicole Yorkin, another board member, sent a message Wednesday to her friends in the guild urging them to deny the appeals.
“Voting is now open (until Friday) on the Guild’s strike-related disciplinary actions,” she wrote. “Please vote to uphold the WGA’s Board of Directors’ decisions in these matters and encourage your WGA member friends to do the same!”
