Writers Guild East President Michael Winship Says He Will Not Run for Re-election

Alex Weprin
·1 min read

In a changing of the guard at the Writers Guild of America East, president Michael Winship told members Tuesday morning that he will not seek re-election in September.

“This is not a choice that was made lightly, but I have been a member of this union for more than four decades and active in our work for nearly all of them,” Winship wrote. “Now the time has come for me to pass responsibility to the new generation of Guild members and the elected council.”

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Winship served as president of the guild from 2007-2017, and agreed to run once more in 2021 “to help work out issues the guild was facing in terms of constitutional revisions and other membership concerns, but I did say then that it only would be for two years,” he wrote.

According to the list of candidates released by the WGA East Tuesday, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen — who is currently vp for film/TV/streaming — is running unopposed for the president’s seat.

Of course, the change at the top of the WGA East comes at a pivotal moment for the guild, which is in the midst of a strike against companies that are members of the AMPTP (the WGA East also has a sizable constituency of digital journalists).

“That the last weeks of this current term would come in the midst of our strike is unfortunate, but I am not disappearing — for one thing, I remain in office until late September — and will continue to be involved to the best of my ability even after my term ends,” Winship wrote.

Read Winship’s letter below.

Dear Guild Colleagues:

Those of you who have seen the list of candidates for this year’s upcoming Writers Guild East elections may have noticed that I am not running for re-election as your president.

This is a decision that was made right from the start two years ago when I was asked to return to the presidency. Despite having already served five terms as president, from 2007-2017, I agreed to run again in 2021 to help work out issues the guild was facing in terms of constitutional revisions and other membership concerns, but I did say then that it only would be for two years.

That the last weeks of this current term would come in the midst of our strike is unfortunate, but I am not disappearing — for one thing, I remain in office until late September — and will continue to be involved to the best of my ability even after my term ends. What’s more, we have an extraordinary team of elected leadership plus dedicated staff and members in place who have been working for all of us 24/7, doing their best to make this strike a resounding success that will protect writers, their work and careers for years to come. Having also led this guild through our last strike, in 2007-08, I know how difficult all of this is but am fully confident that we will win again.

This is not a choice that was made lightly, but I have been a member of this union for more than four decades and active in our work for nearly all of them. Now the time has come for me to pass responsibility to the new generation of Guild members and the elected council. 

Friends and family have been eager for me to move on to the next challenge; some have even threatened bodily harm if I ran again! But it always has been an honor serving you and I look forward to the next chapters for us all. Onward.

In solidarity,
Michael Winship

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