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ARE YOU A WGAW MEMBER WHO IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES?

Wherever members are located, the WGAW is here to help you navigate Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) requirements to ensure your writing work is WGA-covered.

In recent years the Guild has stepped up our outreach efforts to non-U.S. members, particularly those who write for English-language markets.

WHO TO CONTACT

Your input and questions are important to us. For general inquiries from members who are located outside the U.S. and are seeking a WGA agreement, contact Member Organizing.

For specific MBA explanations, contact the Contracts Department.

For questions about member dues, contact the Dues Department. Members may declare earnings and pay dues online. If you do not have a U.S. Social Security number, contact the Membership Department to be assigned a substitute number.

For WGA Pension and Health questions that are not answered at wgaplans.org, contact Tiffany Slater.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A WGA AGREEMENT?

WGAW-Enforced Minimum Compensation and Residuals
These payments can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars on a theatrical film or television or new media project.

Determination of Writing Credit
Rules and procedures that govern credit determination, as well as contractual intellectual property rights or “separated rights.”

WGA Pension & Health Plan Benefits
Even if a writer resides outside the U.S., he or she can enjoy WGA benefits. Our health benefits work much like private health insurance does in the U.K., by supplementing the national health system, and they are paid for by the WGA signatory employer (though writers would pay a modest sum to cover family members). The pension benefit is collected upon retirement and is a valuable life-long annuity, which is paid for entirely by the WGA-signatory employer.

WGA Awards Consideration
Projects produced under a WGA or an affiliate Writers Guild agreement may be eligible for WGA Awards consideration and publicity. Currently, only videogames are exempt from that requirement.

ITEMS TO HELP SECURE A WGA DEAL

Overscale Geographic Jurisdiction Language
To avoid any confusion, we strongly advise including language in your writer’s agreement with the signatory company akin to this: “Notwithstanding where the writer lives or performs writing services, the parties (company and writer) agree that the writer’s services (or option or sale, as the case may be) shall be governed by the WGA Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement.”

Completed Signatory Company Application
A potential signatory company should complete the WGAW signatory application and file it with the Signatories Department along with your writer’s pending agreement. Here’s how. Use our online Signatory Company Lookup to verify whether a company is or is not a current WGA signatory or contact the Signatories Department.

Writer’s Employment and/or Acquisition Agreement Amendment
It may be necessary to replace a non-WGA signatory company with an existing (or soon-to-become) WGA signatory company by amending your writer’s employment and/or acquisition agreement. This must be done to bring the employment or sale under WGA jurisdiction. An Amendment Agreement letter is then filed with our Signatories Department.

Work With a WGA Signatory Company
If you are the first writer employed on a project, involve a WGA signatory company from the beginning of the process to ensure you can compete for WGA writing credit. If your work does not fall under the Guild’s jurisdiction and you are later rewritten by a WGA-covered writer, your script may be designated as “source material” and you will not get to compete for writing credit on the project.

We will be updating this page with information important to members based outside the United States. Your suggestions are welcome.