Hollywood’s Writers Are Getting Ready For War

David Young
David Young, WGA executive director, during a writer's strike in 2007. Photo: Mark Boster/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
June 24, 2022

Over the past couple months, a group of prominent TV writers has been meeting with a very specific goal: Not getting screwed in the next Writers Guild negotiations. It’s a loose, informal collection, I’m told, including a couple WGA board members. In a recent email that was forwarded to me, the group was described as “concerned writers who want to make sure our union goes into this next negotiation with a clear understanding of the problems, and hopefully arm them with some winnable solutions.” They’ve been strategizing with key agents and lawyers, reviewing contracts, and generally collecting data in advance of what most insiders believe will be Hollywood’s most contentious labor negotiations since the crippling strike of 2007-08.