Nick Kazan: Why I am running for the WGA board

I’ve been in the WGA for more than 40 years, working in both film and TV. If elected, I’ll bring experience, institutional memory, and an understanding of our history as a union — where and how we’ve succeeded and where we’ve fallen short.

When I was on the Board before, I supported every action David Young proposed and ran along with, and enthusiastically supported, Patric Verrone.

Something has changed. I am now deeply concerned about the future — indeed the survival — of our union.

Our current action is perilous. There are serious issues here — agency practices and abuses that must be dealt with and remedied. They must be.

But we are in unexplored territory, and (inevitably) there are unintended consequences — consequences which fall on our members unequally. Therefore I have grave concerns about the way the Guild has proceeded and, most critically, about the effect of this situation on our solidarity.

Many writers voted for the concept of a CoC in order to give the Guild power to negotiate — not to empower it to disrupt or destroy the business. But the Guild has not negotiated.

This is not a strike. It does not impact all writers in the same way. Some among us have overall deals. Some have jobs lined up and can keep working for months or years — they don’t need agents right now. Others don’t have jobs, need their agents, and feel stranded, without guidance and recourse.

Those most grievously harmed are members whose careers are most vulnerable: writers of color, women, and those who only recently joined the Guild.

We need an agreement that will actually help working writers and those most in jeopardy. We should not hold out for a settlement which will primarily benefit showrunners. Yes, we’ve been given hypotheticals about how this action (if it achieves total victory) will put money in the pockets of working writers. Maybe. But those are theories, based on predictions about the future behavior of studios, networks, and agencies. Personally, I can’t predict what corporations will do, and I don’t think we should jeopardize people’s careers when we don’t know — can’t know — what the future will bring.

The spirit of this negotiation has also been worrisome. The WGA has demonized all agents and ignored or denigrated the value agents now have (and have had) in the careers of many of us. Yes, agency practices need to be addressed and abuses rectified. But insisting that agents and agencies are “the enemy” won’t do that. It’s largely untrue, needlessly insulting, and terrible strategy.

You may disagree with me here. That’s fine…and it’s symptomatic: this action leaves every writer feeling and responding differently…and that is what concerns me, that is what has fractured the Guild. The fracture will only worsen the longer this goes on, and there is no end in sight. And. And: if there isn’t a resolution soon, the implications for the WGA are potentially catastrophic.

In a strike where we’re all not working, our membership has always been — fabulously, admirably, save for a few scabs and cowards — united. We have walked the lines and held the lines together and found strength and comradeship in doing that.

This is different. Because we do not suffer equally here, and because this action is taken not against our employers (networks, studios) but against our creative partners (agents), some writers may soon feel they have to choose between their families and their Guild. No one should have to make that choice.

And this action could not have come at a worse time.

We face serious contract issues with the AMPTP in 2020. Disney is threatening to come after the residuals we have; other studios may follow suit. Netflix is using de facto buyouts in place of residuals. We must face these issues head on, protect what we have and demand that residuals for streaming be improved. The money involved is massive (hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars) and these issues affect us all (TV and screen alike) and should unite us all. Right now we are undermining our unity and jeopardizing our ability to wage that fight. If we go into 2020 crippled by the fallout from our current action, the wound will be self-inflicted and the companies will feast on our remains.

So. Two major issues:

1. Extricate ourselves from the present mess with the best deal available given the damage already done. We must gain clear improvements on previous practices.

2. Prepare for the 2020 negotiation with the AMPTP.

Beside these, everything else pales.

I will, however, mention a few other Guild matters of particular interest to me:

Inequality. Many Guild members are unaware of a dues disparity. Feature writers pay dues on every penny of their income. Rich TV writers with massive overall deals take virtually all their income as producers…and pay minimal dues.

This affects Pension and Health…two cornerstones of the WGA. Again: screenwriters pay a far larger percentage of their income. And feature writers get almost nothing come contract time. The Guild always enters AMPTP talks with demands for screenwriters — and gives those demands up early on. Something concrete must be won in 2020.

And creative thought must be given to figuring out how rich over-scale TV writers can pay their fair share of dues and fully support our union.

More Inequality. Anything the Guild can do to level the playing field for POC and for women should be done — now. It’s a new world (thank God). Let’s not just embrace it…let’s lead the way.

Respect. I joined this union in 1976, I’ve participated enthusiastically in many strikes and been to a lot of Strike meetings where I’ve heard some wonderfully deranged and wildly articulate or semi-articulate rants. Those rants were always listened to. One aspect of the current situation which horrifies me is the degree of venom exchanged between and among writers. We need to hear each other. We need to listen. Disagreement is healthy; it’s not evidence of moral depravity.

And dissent is not betrayal. Example: those who criticize the current Administration in Washington are not traitors; they’re patriots. Likewise: those who question the Guild’s current approach are not selfish scabs or pawns of the Agencies. We love the WGA and want it to prosper; we just have a different perspective. Equally: those who support the current action are not fools or sheep. You’re writers. You know what you think and why you think it.

Lastly: I am not a fanatic. I have opinions but no agenda. If elected, I promise to listen to everyone and do what seems best for the union I love.

I urge you to vote for: Phyllis Nagy (President), Craig Mazin (Vice-President), Nick Jones Jr. (Secretary-Treasurer)…and for the Board: Ayelet Waldman, Sarah Treem, Rasheed Newson, Jason Fuchs, Courtney Kemp, Ashley Miller, and Marc Guggenheim.

Thank you for your consideration.

— Nick Kazan