For WGAE Council

Hi! I’m Victoria Pollack, a TV Drama writer running for a seat on WGAE Council to represent Film/TV/Streaming members.

You may recognize me as that redheaded picked chick with the megaphone. Or you may have encountered me through one of the technicolor @WGAStrikeUnite infographics I made as its co-founder. Even if we haven’t met yet, thank you for being here.

I would bring a grassroots lets-get-it-done energy and years of experience as a fly-on-the-wall to conversations with CEOs, studios, networks, and writers as a showrunner’s assistant turned staffer to Council conversations. I know that the success of our industry depends on the health of the entire ecosystem—from support staffer to showrunner to studio exec—and right now, our guild needs to be abundantly nimble to keep pace with the rapidly evolving landscape.

W H Y ?

Because I want to ensure the future of storytelling is sustainable and human-centered.

We need

Staff Writer Safeguards

Include Staff Writers in Room Minimums

We are only as strong as our most vulnerable members. While achieving staff writer script fees was a long-overdue strike gain, it’s a moot point if staff writers aren’t hired in the first place. We must incorporate staff writers in the minimum hiring agreements to ensure that there are safeguards in place. Without this, we are giving studios the upper hand and are making our profession unsustainable.

Artificial Intelligence Education

AI is here. It’s not going anywhere.

And we need to be prepared.

During the strike, we set the bar for the entertainment industry in terms of contract language about artificial intelligence. Going forward, we need to maintain this bar by:

researching advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI;
consulting with legal experts in intellectual property to ensure that we continue to set the bar for entertainment industry contract language surrounding AI
educating our members about traditional vs. generative AI.

Writer Employment Audit

To prepare for the next round of MBA negotiations, we need a Guild-led audit to look at how members are actually getting work in the post-strike landscape.

What percentage of guild members are actively working? How are writers successfully booking jobs? Where are the bottlenecks? To what extent does representation matter in relation to getting work? Are writers actually working their way up—or are they getting stuck, or worse, demoted?

Revamped Writer Resources

Guild members are struggling. Full stop.

Whether you’re a showrunner open to Co-EP roles or a staff writer contemplating a return to support staff opportunities, the post-strike squeeze is real and with it, the risk of union attrition.

Unemployment Portal • The current unemployment portal, while well-intentioned, functions more as an “unavailable” portal than a means to find work. Given the scarcity of OWAs, we need to explore ways to make this portal a more helpful tool for writers.

Unemployment Resources • If we want writers to ride out the hard times, our members need encouragement exploring their transferrable skills. There is no shame in survival work. The WGAE can help destigmatize unemployment through mindful programming.

Community Development

The greatest strike gain was a strengthened community.

We must continue to cultivate programming that fortifies our community.

Captain Connections • We must ensure that all WGAE members have an active captain as a direct line to the Guild. Given the brevity of many writers rooms, I propose all WGAE writers be assigned a captain in their sector (ie. film, drama, comedy) and use room captains as reinforcement. By ensuring that all WGAE writers have a captain who is not directly involved with their current employment we increase the likelihood of honest, transparent communications with the Guild, and decrease the possibility of writers getting lost in the shuffle when rooms end

Social Programming • Writers spend so much time alone. We need mixers and programming designed to foster community conversations in person and over Zoom.

Accessibility for Parents & Caregivers • We need to better publicize the childcare stipend and explore alternate childcare options to ensure parents and caregivers are able to participate in in-person programs.

Solidarity
Forever

For the union makes us strong.

Inter-union Solidarity • We could not have won the WGA strike without the unwavering support of our fellow entertainment unions. We have a duty to support them in their labor efforts—and to educate our membership about solidarity as a creative act.

Bolster WGAE—WGAW Relations • We have WGAE members in LA. We have WGAW members in NYC. And we have a ton of brilliant writers who do not live in either city! With a rise in virtual and bicoastal rooms, it behooves us to actively nurture our relationship with WGAW and ensure that our communities are connected no matter where they are based.

My Story

I worked my way up from showrunner’s assistant to staff writer on network dramas. I had the tremendous opportunity to work under expert writer/producers and sponge up every morsel of wisdom I could, learning how to take an idea from pitch to post-production, how to be the kind of writer-on-set that production likes, and how to spin seventy story plates at once. I was thrilled to join the Guild when I published my first freelance script in March 2020.

My involvement in the Guild took off during the strike. We all anticipated a long and challenging strike, and I knew that we would need to maintain public support in order to emerge victorious. I also knew that we would gain public support if effectively communicated three things: why we were on strike, what the stakes were, and how they can support. So, at a strike meeting at Cooper Union in May 2023, I asked our negotiating committee: “We’re a union of 11,500 people. We have hundreds of millions of viewers. What are we doing to leverage that collective power in our favor and empower our audiences to support us?”

That “little” question led to me co-founding @WGAStrikeUnite, a grassroots collective that amplifies industry data and rank and file member stories in service of a stronger entertainment industry.

As co-founder of @WGAStrikeUnite, I have spent countless hours researching the state of the industry, looking at the numbers, dynamics, and processes that influence our livelihoods. I have spoken with members from all walks of life about their experiences, and know how raw the strike and post-strike experience has been for too many writers.

I took in the information and I took action. I created hundreds of informational posts and CTAs. I developed strike-affected worker resource documents. I led the WGAE “Busting the Myth of Being ‘Just’ a Writer Panel” to help writers identify and leverage transferrable skills in pursuit of survival employment. I co-produced the Sunday Solidarity Brunch, the only east coast food support event open to all entertainment workers complete with access to professional development and an abundance of survival resources like free groceries, grocery gift cards, and food. And, as a strike captain, I have walked the walk—literally.

Along the way, I have forged relationships with our sibling union members and leaders in pursuit of reciprocal solidarity. I’ve partnered with Guild staff on events and programming as a participant and a producer. I’ve fallen in love with our membership. And I’ve become aware of our blind spots.

If the strike taught us anything, it’s that we need proactive programming and policies. We need to anticipate the needs of membership to best support a sustainable path in the arts. We need to prioritize community engagement. We need to solicit industry data in order to effectively assess the health of our industry and our members. Most importantly, we need our council to be ferociously curious as we prepare for the next round of MBA negotiations.

We’ve got work to do and I’m ready to do it.

I'd really love your vote.

See you when the polls open on August 27th!