The Writers Guild of America West on Friday publicly announced disciplinary action against six members for alleged unauthorized work during the union’s 2023 strike, as well as one additional member for an alleged violation of the guild’s constitution.
Four of those disciplined, which the WGAW named in a memo to members today, are appealing the decision.
Julie Bush, Tim Doyle, Edward Drake and Roma Roth are all pushing back against the union board’s disciplinary rulings, which were determined via hearings before five-member trial juries. Bush, Drake and Roth are accused of writing during the strike.
Bush, whose credited as a consulting producer on Manhunt, has been suspended from the guild until next year and has been barred for life from holding non-elected guild office after being found guilty of violating Working Rule 8 and writing for a non-signatory company during the strike. Drake was expelled for allegedly writing during the strike and “failing to cooperate” with the Strike Rules Compliance Committee. Roth, an executive producer of Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River, has also been expelled for writing for a non-signatory company during the strike.
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Last Man Standing showrunner Doyle’s discipline is in regards to a Facebook post that the union called “racist and offensive depiction of a lynching.” Deadline previously reported on this matter, when Doyle was censured last year.
In a statement to Deadline, Drake called the board’s decision to publicly announce the group’s discipline “an alarming pattern of overreach and public shaming.”
“After reading the appeal documents for the other writers, it’s disturbing to see that the WGAW Board in each of the four cases being appealed disregarded their own investigators, SRCC and/or Trial Committee recommendations to push for harsher, and public, punishments,” the statement continued. “Why have governance systems, like investigators and committees, in place to protect members if their findings and recommendations can just be ignored by the Board?”
Edward added that “hyphenate members face different challenges than their peers,” saying that the accusations are in regard to script changes he made in his capacity as a director, not as a writer.
“The Board punished me for being transparent, denied my right to due process and a fair trial, and pressured me to ‘name names’ while refusing to provide protection from legal retaliation. When I withheld, the Board branded me a scab. That’s not justice — it’s coercion,” he added.
Deadline has reached out to Bush and Roth for comment. Representatives for Doyle could not be reached.
Under guild rules, disciplined members are offered the opportunity to appeal the board’s decision to the membership at large. Members in good standing will vote to decide whether to uphold the disciplinary action or adopt “an alternative action proposed by the appellant,” as the guild states.
WGAW members will be able to vote on the four appeals online from 10 a.m. PT on May 6 until 2 p.m. PT on May 9.
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