Writers Guild West Names Members Who've Been Expelled or Disciplined for Breaking Strike Rules
The Writers Guild of America West has gone public with its discipline of six union members for allegedly writing during the labor group's 2023 strike and one for a purported constitutional violation, a move that four writers have appealed, with one saying he was 'punished for being transparent.'
Writers Julie Bush, Tim Doyle, Edward Drake and Roma Roth have all sought to overturn disciplinary rulings from the union's board of directors, which followed hearings before five-member trial juries and investigations from a committee aimed at uncovering authorized work during the strike. The union announced the discipline and appeals to members on Friday.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Staffers at L.A.'s Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits Form Union
At "Stay in L.A." Rally, Working Hollywood Fights to Improve Incentives for Southern California's Signature Industry
SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts Expiration Date Extended Again
The appeal materials show that Bush, a consulting producer on Manhunt, was suspended from WGA membership until 2026 and was barred from holding 'non-elected guild office' due to alleged writing during the strike for a non-signatory company. Schooled and The Kids Are Alright executive producer Doyle was publicly censured for a Facebook post deemed 'a racist and offensive depiction of a lynching,' as THR previously reported. Guns Up writer-director Drake was expelled from the union for allegedly 'writing during the strike and failing to cooperate with the Strike Rules Compliance Committee' and Sullivan's Crossing and Virgin River executive producer Roth was also expelled for allegedly writing during the strike for a non-signatory company.
In a statement, Drake called his discipline unjust and the process that led him there flawed. 'The Board disregarded the findings of their own Trial Committee, as well as the Chair of the Strike Rules Compliance Committee, both of whom said I did not deserve to be expelled. Even the Supreme Court has upheld that directors are allowed to make script changes during a strike.'
Drake added, 'As someone who doesn't yet have a manager or agent, and has only worked on low-budget indies, the Board thought I was an easy target. But, isn't protecting the most vulnerable the very the point of having a union? Instead, I was punished for being transparent, denied due process and a fair trial, and pressured to 'name names' without protection against legal threats.'
Bush and Doyle likewise call into question the board's decision to hand them harsher punishments than the recommendations of their trial committees.
The trial committee recommended that Bush receive a confidential letter of censure and a ban from serving as a strike captain for three years. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Bush said, 'A jury of my union peers found me innocent of breaking the Strike Rules in an eight-hour trial, but the guild decided to ignore their recommendation and punish me as though I did. To make matters worse, when I let them know I wanted to exercise my right to appeal the punishment at a private membership meeting, they denied me that right, instead passing a resolution to change the appeal process — in violation of the Guild Constitution and violation of federal labor law — presumably to make this appeal as public and punishing as possible.'
She added, 'I love my union but not the actions that they have taken. Our union does not stand for illegal witch-hunts and kangaroo courts. I love the Guild, and I believe that standing up for my due process makes our Guild better and stronger.'
In his position statement, Doyle claimed that the union's trial committee recommended a confidential censure for him after he underwent a disciplinary hearing. Instead, the board 'decided to be harshly punitive with this very public shaming – a wildly disproportionate punishment for an offense which the Board's own investigative committee concluded had been unknowing and unintentional.'
For her part, Roth called her excommunication from the guild 'excessive and disproportionate' because she was not working for a signatory company, but for an independently financed Canadian TV series. She alleges that after a defective disciplinary process, the chair of her trial committee, a former public defender, 'refused to sign the committees report, resigned and then wrote a four-page letter to the Board outlining her deep concerns over how flawed the discipline process was.'
THR has reached out to all who were accused for comment.
Per the constitution of the writers' union, disciplined members can appeal the board's decisions and call for a vote from members in good standing with the union. If the majority of members vote to keep the ruling in place, the discipline remains; if not, an 'alternative action' proposed by the accused person will be undertaken.
The vote will take place online between 10 a.m. PT on May 6 and 2 p.m. PT on May 9.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started
Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023
Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Road rule warning to Aussies after driver cops $1,775 fine, 22 demerit points in one go
Drivers are being reminded of their responsibility to follow the myriad rules of the road after one L-plater copped $1,775 in fines and a whopping 22 demerit points in one hit this past weekend. NSW Traffic and Highway Patrol are holding the driver of a silver Saab convertible up as an example of what not to do after the male, who held a NSW Learner's class C licence, was caught doing 129km/h on the Hume Highway on Sunday. It was the car's speed in the 110km/h zone near Penrose which initially alerted officers in Mittagong Highway Patrol to the driver's wrongdoing, but the offences didn't stop there. The learner licence holder, who was not displaying yellow L plates on the front or the rear of the car, can only do a maximum speed of 90km/h, making his speed actually 39km over the limit. After being stopped at 4.15 pm, officers then spotted a mobile phone positioned near the steering wheel playing a music video on YouTube. "When questioned about this, the male swiped the screen to a map app and replied 'no, I'm not using it, just looking at the map'," officers said of the interaction. It is illegal for learner and provisional licence holders in NSW to use a phone for "any purpose", even for directions. 😳 Alarming breach of well-known road rule as 8,500 Aussies cop $395 fine 🐉 New Aussie road markings aimed at giving drivers a 'sense of warning' 🛴 Aussies warned over $1,161 fine after parents' shocking e-scooter act on city road When police questioned the female passenger about her role as a supervisor, she replied, "I was asleep," officers said. The offences resulted in numerous fines and demerit points. They included: Exceeding speed over 30km/h, $1045 fine and five demerit points Learner using a mobile phone, $410 fine and five demerit points Not displaying L plates, $320 fine and two demerit points. Because it was a long weekend and double demerit points were in place, the male driver accumulated a whopping 22 demerit points. Because learner drivers can only accumulate a maximum of four demerit points, he was automatically suspended from driving with a pending extension from NSW Transport. The female passenger also copped a penalty infringement for failing to supervise. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
SAG-AFTRA Inks Tentative New Deal With Major Video Game Developers That Includes 'Necessary A.I. Guardrails'
After more than 10 months on strike, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal with the major video game companies. Specific terms of the new Interactive Media Agreement, which the union announced late Monday night, were not immediately available. More from Deadline Editors Guild Protests Against Nonfiction Producer Story Syndicate At Tribeca Premiere Of OceanGate Submersible Documentary 'Titan' Disney Layoffs Hit TV Development & Casting Executive Ranks SAG-AFTRA Launches The Producer Portal To Streamline Signatory Process Despite the announcement, the union also made clear that members are not back to work quite yet. SAG-AFTRA says it expects to finalize a strike suspension agreement with the employers 'soon,' but the work stoppage continues until then. Now, the National Board will consider the deal before it is put to a ratification vote with the membership. 'Everyone at SAG-AFTRA is immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by video game performers and the dedication of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout these many months of the video game strike,' SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. 'Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary A.I. guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the A.I. age, alongside other important gains. Thank you, Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Chair Sarah Elmaleh and Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez for your hard work and advocacy in pursuit of this contract.' SAG-AFTRA went on strike against the signatories of the Interactive Media Agreement in July 2024. The sides had bargained on and off for more than a year by then, operating without a contract since November 2022. Artificial intelligence was the big sticking point in these negotiations. The contract covers voice and performance-capture talent on video games, and the union has repeatedly sounded the alarm on how AI could negatively impact these professions. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said: 'Our video game performers stood strong against the biggest employers in one of the world's most lucrative industries. Their incredible courage and persistence, combined with the tireless work of our negotiating committee, has at last secured a deal. The needle has been moved forward and we are much better off than before. As soon as this is ratified we roll up our sleeves and begin to plan the next negotiation. Every contract is a work in progress and progress is the name of the game.' The gamer companies involved in this contract are Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Singaporean driver arrested in Johor Bahru after road rage incident; Jacky Cheung concert 2025: Heavenly King will perform at Singapore Indoor Stadium from 21 to 23 Nov: Singapore live news
A Singaporean man was arrested in Johor Bahru on Sunday (8 June) after a road rage incident went viral online. Facebook user Vicky Sing, who said she was involved in the incident with her boyfriend, uploaded short clips of the encounter to her account. A police report was made by the couple on Saturday afternoon, shortly after the incident occurred at around 2.39pm. Didn't manage to snag a ticket to Jacky Cheung's concert in 2023? Well, the Hong Kong Heavenly King will stage three encore concerts on three nights in November as part of the same 60+ Concert Tour. Cheung will perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 21, 22, and 23 Nov, with ticket prices – from $168 to $388 – remaining the same as his 2023 concerts. Read more in our live blog below, including the latest local and international news and updates. Didn't manage to snag a ticket to Jacky Cheung's concert in 2023? Well, the Hong Kong Heavenly King will stage three encore concerts on three nights in November as part of the same 60+ Concert Tour. Cheung will perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 21, 22, and 23 Nov, with ticket prices – from $168 to $388 – remaining the same as his 2023 concerts. Priority sales for KrisFlyer members will be on 2 July from 10am to 11.59pm. As for OCBC cardmembers, priority sales will be on 3 July from 10am to 11.59pm. General sales begin on July 4 at 10am. The concert tour has travelled across Asia and there will be encore shows in cities such as Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Suzhou. On the first night of his 2023 concerts in Singapore, Cheung, 63, performed a front split onstage and talked about how he didn't feel old despite being old. He also made a 'date' with the crowd for another concert in his 70s. Fortunately, Singapore fans won't have to wait that long to watch him in concert again. For more on the Jacky Cheung 2025 concerts, read here. With a name like "Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee", this stall at Whampoa Makan Place has a lot to live up to – not to mention it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for "good quality" and "good value cooking". Unfortunately, it seems to fall short of expectations, especially if you take a look at the Google reviews. So what went wrong with this plate of hokkien mee? According to a food reviewer, there was an imbalance between the sweet and savoury flavours, and the prawn stock's characteristic brininess was frustratingly faint. There was also a notable lack of wok hei and pork lard was only served upon request. To find out more about the disappointing Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee, read here. Apple's week-long Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off on Monday (9 June) with a keynote and here are all the highlights. The announcements aren't that splashy but the biggest one is probably the new iOS 26, which brings with it the largest software design overhaul for Apple since iOS 7 in 2013. All new Apple devices will get a new look dubbed "Liquid Glass" – one that was inspired by the Vision Pro's translucent software display. The new design will feature see-through visuals that appear to have a glossy surface. The new iOS 26 also marks the start of a new OS naming convention for Apple. The name of Apple's operating system typically increases by 1 each year, but it'll now be OS 26 for all of their devices. This brings the naming convention in line with the year in which customers will use it. Apple Intelligence is also getting some updates with the biggest announcement being that it'll open up its on-device AI model to third-party app developers. It'll also use the technology to improve other functions of the phone, such as Apple Maps, which will now remember users' preferred routes and tailor directions for them – which means that your coffee runs will no longer be a detour. However, Apple didn't reveal more on its plans for a more capable, AI-enhanced Siri. This was first announced at last year's WWDC but later indefinitely delayed. For more announcements from the Apple WWDC 2025, read here. A US judge dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's US$400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively on Monday (9 June). Lively had accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie It Ends With Us, and Baldoni's lawsuit was a response to that. She still seeks unspecified triple and punitive damages, and a March 2026 trial remains scheduled. The judge also dismissed another related $250 million lawsuit from Baldoni against the New York Times for its 21 Dec, 2024 article on their dispute titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine". For more on Justin Baldoni's legal loss and the judge's explanation of the dismissal, read here. A study by the National Institute of Education (NIE) aims to examine how the well-being of girls, who are at greater risk of stress and problematic behaviours, are affected by life in Singapore's top schools. There will be 4,200 secondary school girls recruited from the study. Participants will be recruited from three girls' school and one co-ed school in Singapore. The inclusion of the co-ed school was to recruit a smaller group of boys for comparison, explained the study's lead investigator, Dr Jacqueline Lee Tilley. Researchers have defined a top school as as schools where students consistently perform well in national exams or co-curricular activities. This study is the first of its kind in Singapore and will be conducted over three years, from 2025 to 2028. The four schools were not been named, but The Straits Times understands that Methodist Girls' School is one of them. For more on the NIE study and how it'll be conducted, read here. A Singaporean man was arrested in Johor Bahru on Sunday (8 June) after a road rage incident went viral online. Johor Bahru Utara police chief Balveer Singh told Malaysian media on Monday that the man will remain in remand for four days till 12 June. In an official statement, Singh said, "The suspect does not have a criminal record and tested negative for drugs." Facebook user Vicky Sing, who said she was involved in the incident with her boyfriend, uploaded short clips of the encounter to her account. One of them showed the Singaporean driver shouting at what seems to be her boyfriend. There were also a clip of the driver kicking her car and another showing the damage to the car. A police report was made by the couple on Saturday afternoon, shortly after the incident occurred at around 2.39pm. The case will be investigated under Section 426 of the Penal Code, for mischief and damaging property and Section 509 of the Penal Code, for insult of modesty. For more on the Johor Bahru road rage incident involving a Singaporean driver, read here. Didn't manage to snag a ticket to Jacky Cheung's concert in 2023? Well, the Hong Kong Heavenly King will stage three encore concerts on three nights in November as part of the same 60+ Concert Tour. Cheung will perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 21, 22, and 23 Nov, with ticket prices – from $168 to $388 – remaining the same as his 2023 concerts. Priority sales for KrisFlyer members will be on 2 July from 10am to 11.59pm. As for OCBC cardmembers, priority sales will be on 3 July from 10am to 11.59pm. General sales begin on July 4 at 10am. The concert tour has travelled across Asia and there will be encore shows in cities such as Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Suzhou. On the first night of his 2023 concerts in Singapore, Cheung, 63, performed a front split onstage and talked about how he didn't feel old despite being old. He also made a 'date' with the crowd for another concert in his 70s. Fortunately, Singapore fans won't have to wait that long to watch him in concert again. For more on the Jacky Cheung 2025 concerts, read here. With a name like "Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee", this stall at Whampoa Makan Place has a lot to live up to – not to mention it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for "good quality" and "good value cooking". Unfortunately, it seems to fall short of expectations, especially if you take a look at the Google reviews. So what went wrong with this plate of hokkien mee? According to a food reviewer, there was an imbalance between the sweet and savoury flavours, and the prawn stock's characteristic brininess was frustratingly faint. There was also a notable lack of wok hei and pork lard was only served upon request. To find out more about the disappointing Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee, read here. Apple's week-long Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off on Monday (9 June) with a keynote and here are all the highlights. The announcements aren't that splashy but the biggest one is probably the new iOS 26, which brings with it the largest software design overhaul for Apple since iOS 7 in 2013. All new Apple devices will get a new look dubbed "Liquid Glass" – one that was inspired by the Vision Pro's translucent software display. The new design will feature see-through visuals that appear to have a glossy surface. The new iOS 26 also marks the start of a new OS naming convention for Apple. The name of Apple's operating system typically increases by 1 each year, but it'll now be OS 26 for all of their devices. This brings the naming convention in line with the year in which customers will use it. Apple Intelligence is also getting some updates with the biggest announcement being that it'll open up its on-device AI model to third-party app developers. It'll also use the technology to improve other functions of the phone, such as Apple Maps, which will now remember users' preferred routes and tailor directions for them – which means that your coffee runs will no longer be a detour. However, Apple didn't reveal more on its plans for a more capable, AI-enhanced Siri. This was first announced at last year's WWDC but later indefinitely delayed. For more announcements from the Apple WWDC 2025, read here. A US judge dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's US$400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively on Monday (9 June). Lively had accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie It Ends With Us, and Baldoni's lawsuit was a response to that. She still seeks unspecified triple and punitive damages, and a March 2026 trial remains scheduled. The judge also dismissed another related $250 million lawsuit from Baldoni against the New York Times for its 21 Dec, 2024 article on their dispute titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine". For more on Justin Baldoni's legal loss and the judge's explanation of the dismissal, read here. A study by the National Institute of Education (NIE) aims to examine how the well-being of girls, who are at greater risk of stress and problematic behaviours, are affected by life in Singapore's top schools. There will be 4,200 secondary school girls recruited from the study. Participants will be recruited from three girls' school and one co-ed school in Singapore. The inclusion of the co-ed school was to recruit a smaller group of boys for comparison, explained the study's lead investigator, Dr Jacqueline Lee Tilley. Researchers have defined a top school as as schools where students consistently perform well in national exams or co-curricular activities. This study is the first of its kind in Singapore and will be conducted over three years, from 2025 to 2028. The four schools were not been named, but The Straits Times understands that Methodist Girls' School is one of them. For more on the NIE study and how it'll be conducted, read here. A Singaporean man was arrested in Johor Bahru on Sunday (8 June) after a road rage incident went viral online. Johor Bahru Utara police chief Balveer Singh told Malaysian media on Monday that the man will remain in remand for four days till 12 June. In an official statement, Singh said, "The suspect does not have a criminal record and tested negative for drugs." Facebook user Vicky Sing, who said she was involved in the incident with her boyfriend, uploaded short clips of the encounter to her account. One of them showed the Singaporean driver shouting at what seems to be her boyfriend. There were also a clip of the driver kicking her car and another showing the damage to the car. A police report was made by the couple on Saturday afternoon, shortly after the incident occurred at around 2.39pm. The case will be investigated under Section 426 of the Penal Code, for mischief and damaging property and Section 509 of the Penal Code, for insult of modesty. For more on the Johor Bahru road rage incident involving a Singaporean driver, read here.
