Committees

Guidelines for WGAW CAP and Open Committees

(September 2024)

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

  1. Open Committees and CAP
  2. Current Open Committees

II. COMMITTEE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES

  1. Authority
  2. Committee Advisory Panel (CAP)
    1. Mandate
    2. Composition
    3. The CAP Liaison
  3. The Role of Open Committees
    1. Responsibilities
    2. Procedure for Recommendations to the Board
    3. Procedure for Event Requests
    4. Committee Procedures
    5. Formation of New Open Committees
    6. CAP Review of Committees
  4. Committee Membership
    1. WGA Member Status and Eligibility for Committee Involvement
    2. Responsibilities
    3. Restrictions
  5. Election of Committee Officers
  6. Chairperson Responsibilities
    1. Parliamentary Procedure
    2. Annual Committee Caucus
  7. Vice Chair Responsibilities
  8. Committee Staff Liaison Responsibilities
  9. Committee Budgets
  10. Policy on Writing and Other Professional Seminars
  11. Committee Social Media Accounts
  12. Non-Guild Events
  13. Signatory Companies/Guest Participation

III. ACTIVE WGAW CAP COMMITTEES

  1. Open Committees

Guidelines for WGAW CAP and Open Committee

I. Introduction

A. Open Committees and CAP

Open committees support initiatives and priorities set by the WGAW Board of Directors. Committee membership does not require Board appointment.

CAP is the Committee Advisory Panel, a Board-appointed committee that oversees the Guild’s open committees and advises the Board on policy related to those committees.

B. Current Open Committees

CAP has oversight of the following committees:

  1. Asian American Writers Committee (AAWC)
  2. Committee of Black Writers (CBW)
  3. Committee of Women Writers (CWW)
  4. Career Longevity Committee (CLC)
  5. Disabled Writers Committee (DWC)
  6. Genre Committee
  7. Jewish Writers Committee (JWC)
  8. Latinx Writers Committee (LWC)
  9. LGBTQ+ Writers Committee
  10. Middle Eastern Writers Committee (MEWC)
  11. Native American & Indigenous Writers Committee (NAIWC)
  12. South Asian Writers Committee
  13. Writers Education Committee (WEC)

Committee descriptions appear in Part III.

II. COMMITTEE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES

A. Authority

The Board of Directors is the elected governing body of the WGAW. Open committees derive their mandate from the Board. The Board has delegated administrative oversight of all committee activities to the Executive Director.

B. Committee Advisory Panel (CAP)

  1. Mandate

    The Committee Advisory Panel (CAP) is appointed by the Board of Directors to oversee the annual CAP budget; review committee mission statements, plans and activities; approve events and event budgets; recommend new committee creation; combine committees with complementary or similar functions and dissolve non-functioning committees. CAP is responsible to the Board on all matters and the Board must approve new committees or any major committee policy changes.

  2. Composition

    CAP has ten members: four (4) Board members, three (3) at-large Guild members (recommended by CAP), and three (3) open committee chairs (nominated by a caucus of committee chairs). A WGAW staff employee serves as the CAP Liaison.

    CAP is a Board-appointed committee. CAP is led by a chair or two co-chairs (the “CAP chairs”), who are members of the Board of Directors. CAP members serve two-year terms, and may continue to serve upon re-election without terming out. CAP members must be Current Active WGAW members. If at any time a CAP member is no longer in Current Active status, he/she must advise the CAP chairs and the CAP liaison, so that a new member can be appointed by the Board.

  3. The CAP Liaison

    The CAP liaison is appointed by the Executive Director. The liaison coordinates communication between CAP and committees, committee staff liaisons and executive staff. The CAP liaison receives and reviews committee requests via the CAP Form and works with the committee liaisons to facilitate the requests, as well as serves as an intermediary regarding any questions or issues that may arise. The CAP liaison maintains and updates the CAP budget and event requests, and organizes CAP Committee and Caucus meetings, in addition to other tasks assigned by the Executive Director.

C. The Role of Open Committees

  1. Responsibilities

    WGAW open committees are formed to support Guild initiatives and priorities and to carry out actions in their area of responsibility to promote the interests and needs of the membership. It is CAP’s responsibility to assess committee recommendations and to authorize appropriate action under the overall mandate of the Board.

  2. Procedure for Recommendations to the Board

    Committee recommendations for Board consideration within their area of concern shall be sent to the CAP chairs in written form, through the CAP Liaison. If the CAP chairs determine that the Board of Directors should review the recommendation, they will submit a request to the Board officers for the item to be added to the Board agenda.

  3. Procedure for Event Requests

    CAP committee chairs submit one copy of the CAP Form to the CAP liaison, via the designated staff liaison, when planning a committee project or event. Committee staff liaisons should be sure the form is filled out accurately and completely. As much advance notice as possible is helpful, but minimum submission deadline for the CAP Form is 4-6 weeks prior to the date of the event. If an event is less than 4-6 weeks away, consideration and review of the CAP Form will be given at the discretion of the CAP liaison and CAP. CAP Forms can be obtained from the CAP liaison, Inclusion and Equity Department, or committee staff liaisons.

    Once the CAP Form is received, the CAP liaison will submit the form to CAP for approval. Only one request at a time should be submitted. The turn-around time for the response from CAP is forty-eight hours, unless the request is time-sensitive.

  4. Committee Procedures
    1. Meetings

      Each committee must convene a meeting of its members, with advance notice provided in the Guild calendar and an email invitation to committee members via the Inclusion and Equity Newsletter prior to the meeting date. Each committee will have no more than six meetings per year, occurring on a bi-monthly basis, and no fewer than three of those meetings will be virtual. Every committee must take attendance at each meeting. Each committee member is ultimately responsible to check in, which helps determine committee attendance, eligibility for events that have minimum meeting attendance requirements and electronic ballots for committee leadership elections.

    2. Committee Ad-Hoc Working Groups

      Committee chairs may designate ad-hoc working groups for short-term special projects. These working groups must have a specific purpose and shall end after the period of time defined at formation or at the end of a project. The working groups report to the open committee and do not operate independently of it (i.e. no ad-hoc representatives at CAP caucus meetings, nor separate ad-hoc budget line item under the CAP annual budget).

  5. Formation of New Open Committees

    The formation of new committees must be recommended by CAP and then approved by the Board of Directors. New committees must serve a useful and distinct function within the parameters of the Constitution of the Guild and priorities of the Board.

  6. CAP Review of Committees

    CAP may perform a review of any committee. Review criteria may include:

    • Conducts regular meetings that include a significant number of committee members;
    • Stays within annual budget;
    • Actively pursues its mission statement goals;
    • Holds elections (required every two years, in even numbered years) to elect leadership;
    • Complies with requirements for producing events.

    If a committee is not adequately complying with the above criteria, the chairs will be asked to explain discrepancies to CAP. CAP shall have the discretion to suggest or require necessary adjustments to improve committee performance, such as altering the meeting schedule, conducting outreach to bring in new members or redefining the committee’s goals.

    If a committee is willfully disregarding the rules as set forth in these Guidelines, CAP shall have the power to call for chair or member dismissals or a reorganization of the committee, with the Board of Directors having final approval.

D. Eligibility to Participate on Committees

  1. WGAW Member Status and Eligibility for Committee Involvement

    Current, Post-Current, and Associate members in good standing are eligible to serve on open committees. Individuals in the status of Emeritus, Financial Core, Withdrawn or In Arrears shall not be eligible to participate on open committees.

    Open committees must post meeting times and dates in the online Guild calendar so members who would like to participate have adequate notice of meetings.

    Members may attend a meeting of a committee of interest to them and will be added to that committee’s roster. Members can request to be removed from a roster at any time.

  2. Responsibilities

    It is the responsibility of the individual committee member to attend meetings, study agenda items, and contribute his or her own ideas to the committee’s deliberative process. Committee members who display disruptive behavior during committee meetings or events may be asked to leave by the chair or staff liaison and may, in extreme circumstances, be removed from the committee with the approval of CAP.

  3. Restrictions

    Committee members and leadership may not:

    1. Negotiate on behalf of the Guild with third parties, but may conduct general outreach to potential partners or sponsors upon prior consultation with CAP Liaison;
    2. Distribute or accept compensation or items of value in the course of committee service or events, with the exception of distributing prizes that are part of the activity and are previously approved via the CAP form. Receipts for budgeted expenses incurred will be reimbursed through the staff liaison.

E. Election of Committee Leadership

  1. Each committee will be led by either a single chair or a maximum of two co-chairs. Chairs must be Current Active members, and must have attended at least one committee meeting during the previous year to be eligible.
    1. A single chair or two co-chairs will be elected in one of the following ways:
      • In the case of one eligible candidate, the chair will be deemed elected without the necessity of a vote.
      • In the case of two eligible candidates, the co-chairs will be deemed elected without the necessity of a vote, OR, upon the request of either or both candidates, an election will be conducted for the position of sole chair.
      • In the case of three or more eligible candidates, each candidate may opt to run individually for the position of sole chair or two candidates may opt to run on a ticket together for the positions of co-chairs. Alternatively, if all candidates unanimously agree, an “open” election may be held for the positions of co-chairs, in which the two individual candidates with the most votes will be elected to serve.
    2. If there are no Current Active members nominated, committee members who are Post Current or Associate in good standing and have attended at least one committee meeting during the previous year may be nominated and serve if elected.
  2. A Committee may elect one vice chair who is a Current, Post Current, or Associate member in good standing, and has attended at least one committee meeting in the previous year. This office may be vacant if no one chooses to run. The vice chair conducts committee meetings in the absence of a chair.
  3. Elections for CAP committee leadership are mandatory and should be conducted in the following manner each even-numbered year. Nominations for Chair(s) and Vice Chair will be accepted during each committee’s March/April meeting (an email will be sent to all committee members with nomination and election rules two weeks in advance), and elections will be conducted during each May/June meeting. Nominations will be made at the committee meeting, and additional nominations will be accepted for three weeks following the meeting via email to the committee’s staff liaison. Members may nominate themselves or another eligible member. An email announcing the nominated candidates will be sent to all committee members at least two weeks prior to the May/June election meeting.
  4. If a single committee Chair or Vice Chair resigns or is removed by the Board in the course of a two-year term, a new election will be conducted at the next committee meeting which allows time for nominations and election as outlined above. If a Committee Co-Chair resigns or is removed in the course of a two-year term, the remaining Co-Chair shall become the Chair for the rest of the term. For any period during which a Committee does not have a Chair, the Vice-Chair will act as Chair until the new election and. if there is no Vice Chair, CAP will appoint a temporary Chair to conduct committee business prior to election.
    1. If a committee Co-Chair is elected to the Board in the course of a two-year term, the remaining Co-Chair shall become the sole Chair for the remainder of the term. If a sole Chair is elected to the Board, the Vice-Chair will become the Chair for the remainder of the term. In the event there is no Vice-Chair CAP will appoint a temporary chair.
  5. Eligible members whose names appear on a committee meeting attendance sheet during the calendar year prior to the election date, may vote in a committee leadership election.

    Elections will be conducted electronically, ahead of the committee election meeting. Results will be announced at the meeting, and those elected will take office at the end of the meeting. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held during the election results meeting.

  6. Committee leaders are eligible to be elected for three consecutive terms, after which they become ineligible for the next leadership term. If, however, no other member wishes to run for the position, the office holder may be re-elected. Term limits take effect with the election of committee leaders May/June 2022.

F. Chairperson Responsibilities

  1. Parliamentary Procedure

    The chair (including co-chairs) leads committee meetings, and is expected to have a reasonable knowledge of parliamentary procedure as outlined in Roberts Rules of Order to be applied when the occasion warrants. A ruling of the chair is final. A committee meeting should, however, be informal in nature. The chair should encourage individual discussion leading to a consensus before calling for a vote. The chair is expected to make an effort to elicit an expression of opinion from every member of a committee on a key issue before voting. The chair has a right to expect common courtesy from committee members, toward the chair and toward each other. The first order of business of any committee is to set a target date for accomplishment of its work. At the end of each meeting, the chair, in collaboration with the committee staff liaison, will set the date, time and place for the next meeting. A chair may speak on either side of a discussion, but may not vote except to break a tie. In no event will a chair use his/her office, or permit others to use parliamentary devices, to suppress reasonable debate or dissent.

  2. Committee Caucus

    In order to encourage and facilitate communication and cooperation among Guild committees, a caucus of all committee chairs will be held at least once per year, during which committee chairs and vice chairs can share achievements and concerns of the past year and formulate common goals, agendas and plans. In odd numbered years, the caucus will nominate three chairs to represent committees on CAP. The caucus meeting will be an annual review of events and their agenda items as determined by the CAP Chair(s).

G. Vice Chair Responsibilities

The vice chair will:

a. Chair committee meetings when the chair is unavailable;

b. Chair working groups as requested;

A vice chair may not function in the place of the chair in the discharge of the chair’s duties to CAP.

H. Committee Staff Liaison Responsibilities

A Guild staff member is assigned to each committee to serve as liaison, and will attend committee meetings, help coordinate committee activities and serve as a resource to the committee. The chair will contact the Staff Liaison to establish meeting dates, agendas, or address other items of importance.

The staff liaison is responsible for notifying the CAP liaison in writing of any changes in committee membership or officers as they occur, so that Guild records may be kept current.

The staff liaison should ensure that each CAP Form is accurate and complete.

I. Committee Budgets

The CAP/open committee annual budget is part of the WGAW’s annual operating budget. CAP allocates each committee’s yearly budget based on the needs and projects of the committee. Each committee’s spending is reviewed quarterly by CAP, and an annual CAP budget proposal is recommended by CAP in March of each fiscal year. The budget recommendation is submitted to the Membership and Finance Committee, which then sends the overall operating budget to the Board of Directors for final approval. Budgeted but unused funds at the end of a fiscal year do not carry over for use in the next fiscal year: any exceptions must be cleared through CAP and the Guild’s Finance Department in advance.

Although budget allocations may have been made for special events and projects based on committees’ plans for the fiscal year, CAP approval per CAP Form submission is still required before proceeding with event planning. If during the fiscal year, a committee wishes to request additional resources for a specific event, the committee chair should contact the designated staff liaison. A proposal should then be submitted to the CAP liaison, who will forward it to CAP for further review and approval.

The Guild’s Operations Department can assist with providing drinks and other necessary resources (e.g. plates, cups, and utensils), ordering food, and making arrangements for pickup or delivery. However, committee members and staff liaisons should be available to set up refreshments prior to the meeting, assist with check-in, or other logistics as needed. Following the event, committees and their liaisons are responsible for general clean-up.

J. Policy on Writing and other Professional Seminars

  1. The WGAW does not endorse or promote any approach, method, theory, or system of screenwriting. 2. The WGAW does not endorse or promote any individual teacher or school of screenwriting. 3. No Guild committee, department or individual shall take any action with contravenes the foregoing policy. 4. In recognition of the desire of some members of the Guild and public to attend lectures and presentations by teachers of screenwriting, Guild committees and departments may, when appropriate to their mandates, produce programs and events wherein individuals present their views and theories on screenwriting and screenwriting methodology, so long as:
    1. Such individuals are given a copy of this policy; and
    2. Such individuals agree in writing in advance of any publication of the event or program in which they are to appear, that they will not thereafter state orally or by any other means, that they or their approaches to screenwriting, or other professional advice are in any way endorsed or approved by the WGAW; and
    3. All publicity or promotional materials for any such program or event, including the monthly calendar, shall contain the following statement:
      1. The WGAW does not endorse or promote any “approach” “method”, “theory”, or “system” of screenwriting.
      2. The WGAW does not endorse or promote any individual teacher or school of screenwriting.
    4. No such speaker shall be paid a fee or honorarium by the Writers Guild, its committees or members, in exchange for leading any screenwriting seminar or seminars.
    5. The WGAW name or logo may not be used by the individual(s) in any advertising or promotional material related to their program or seminars, i.e., as a client; or implying Guild support of their methods.
    6. In addition, the WGAW does not endorse the products or services of event sponsors or panelists who provide other types of professional advice, products, or services. The policies outlined in a-e apply to those individuals and companies as well.

K. Social Media and Press

Social Media

  1. Each committee may have up to three social media pages, which should be kept private and limited to Guild members only.
  2. Committee chair(s) or their appointee will act as administrator for committee’s social media account(s), and the committee staff liaison must have administrative access to each social media account at all times.
  3. Social media pages are for sharing information related to WGAW committees only. Social media pages may not be used for campaigning or promoting the candidacy of any candidate in an internal WGAW election. Any posts that are off-topic or inappropriate may be removed at the discretion of the administrator or staff. Individuals who repeatedly make off-topic or inappropriate posts will be banned.

Press

  1. All media relations for the Guild must go through the Communications Department. If approached by a reporter about a topic relating to the work of an official Guild committee or the Guild generally, committee members are to refer these inquiries to the Communications Department.
  2. Under no circumstances shall committee members, on behalf of their committee or the Guild, respond to a press inquiry, participate in a press interview, release a press statement, or appear at a public event, without clearance from the WGAW Communications Director or her designee.
  3. Press are not permitted at committee meetings or events without clearance from the WGAW Communications Director or her designee.

L. Non-Guild Events

  1. If a committee organizes and hosts a program or event for members that is not guild organized, the committee must make clear, in all promotional material, that it is not a guild sponsored event.

M. Signatory Companies/Guest Participation

WGA signatory status in good standing is required of any person, firm, or corporation responsible for hiring guild writers. This applies to participation in any and all committee-organized programs or events.

III. ACTIVE WGAW CAP COMMITTEES

  1. Open Committees

    Listed below are the Guild’s open CAP committees. Open committees are open to Current (CR; including Lifetime Current), Associate (AS), and Post-Current (PC) members in good standing.

    Asian American Writers Committee

    This committee actively represents the professional and creative interests of Asian American Guild members. Its mandate is to be dedicated to the encouragement, empowerment and employment of writers of Asian heritage.

    Career Longevity Committee

    The mission of the Career Longevity Committee is to advocate for writers over 40 to obtain equal access to the job market with equal opportunity for sustained professional growth.

    Committee of Black Writers

    The WGAW Committee of Black Writers’ mission is to empower, increase visibility, and create career and networking opportunities for Black writers in Hollywood.

    Committee of Women Writers

    The Committee of Women Writers represents the professional interests of the women-identifying Guild members who are seeking WGA-covered work. The CWW sponsors events designed to increase access to employment and to foster networking and collaboration between the women-identifying members of all Guilds. The goal is to improve the profile and perception of women-identifying writers in our industry in order to achieve equal access and financial parity in the workplace.

    Disabled Writers Committee

    The Disabled Writers Committee advances the visibility and employment of disabled writers while encouraging, celebrating, and endorsing accurate and diverse portrayals of disabled people in all areas of media. We also serve as an expert resource for various issues impacting and related to the disabled community.

    Genre Committee

    The Genre Committee was formed with the sole purpose of attracting writers interested in a certain genre to meet, discuss and exchange information in a peer-to-peer setting. Our mission is to push education, diversity and camaraderie amongst all writers no matter their background. The Committee welcomes all writers because writers work in all genres.

    Jewish Writers Committee

    The Jewish Writers Committee offers a community to WGA Jewish writers of all backgrounds and represents their professional, creative, and social interests in Hollywood. It educates and encourages our industry to more accurately depict Jewish characters and Jewish history on-screen, and to end the erasure of our ethnic identity and our community’s contributions to our business. It also seeks to eliminate discrimination in the hiring process and in the workplace.

    Latinx Writers Committee

    This committee actively represents the professional, creative, social and economic interests of Latinx Guild members. Its mandate is to encourage Latinx writers to become more active within the Guild; and to raise the profile and perception of Latinx writers in the industry at large by creating forums that foster networking, collaboration, education, information exchange, employment opportunities and creative expression.

    LGBTQ+ Writers Committee

    The Writers Guild of America West’s LGBTQ+ Writers Committee seeks to utilize its constituency as a resource to all writers who include LGBTQ+ characters in their work. Its members also wish to provide cultural and educational opportunities for WGAW members to nurture an understanding of how sexual orientation and gender identity affect the lives of writers; endeavor to provide networking and social activities enabling the WGAW membership to better know one another and create a greater demand for the writing services of LGBTQ+ WGAW members; and strive to generate a greater awareness within the Guild of sexual orientation (and gender identity) as a minority and, where appropriate, to identify and advocate against instances of homophobia, transphobia and/or discrimination within our industry.

    Middle Eastern Writers Committee

    The mission of the Middle Eastern Writers Committee is to boost visibility and employment of Middle Eastern writers within the film and television industry, while celebrating and promoting accurate portrayals of Middle Eastern characters in all areas of media. We also serve as an expert resource for productions on issues related to the vast and diverse Middle Eastern community in the United States and abroad.

    Native American & Indigenous Writers Committee

    The NAIWC represents the professional and creative interests of Native American & Indigenous writers. It works to mentor, encourage, empower and increase the visibility of employment of writers of Native American and Indigenous heritage, and serves as a cultural and educational resource for all Guild member-writers seeking to portray Native American and Indigenous Peoples in their work.

    Writers Education Committee

    The Writers Education Committee (WEC) has a broad mandate to develop programs that provide WGA members with practical, inside knowledge about how the industry works and how it is changing, emphasizing tips and tools to help writers succeed. The goal is working knowledge for writers.