WGA Members Uphold Vote to Expel Two Members for Strike Violations, but Rescind Censure Over Facebook Joke
Source: Variety
May 9, 2025 5:02pm PT
By Gene Maddaus
The members of the Writers Guild of America have voted to uphold the expulsion of two writers accused of writing during the 2023 strike, but to rescind a public rebuke of a writer who made a joke on Facebook.
The WGA board voted earlier this year to kick out Roma Roth and Edward Drake for performing forbidden “writing services” — what the union calls “scab writing” — during the 148-day strike. They appealed, but 54% of the voting membership backed the board’s decision in a tally that concluded on Friday.
On a 62%-38% vote, the members rejected the public censure of Tim Doyle, who had faced a charge of conduct “prejudicial to the welfare of the Guild” for making an off-color joke. On the 100th day of the strike, Doyle posted a silhouette of a man hanging from a tree, in what was meant to be a morbid reference to his own suicide.
Doyle apologized for the joke, which some took as a reference to a lynching. The process led to some internal concern that the WGA was going too far in policing members’ speech.
Michael Buckner for Variety
Read more: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/wga-roma-roth-edward-drake-appeal-vote-expulsion-1236392455/