Writers Guild of America East President Michael Winship will step down from his post in September despite the union’s ongoing strike against Hollywood studios.
Winship, who previously led the union from 2007-2017, said Tuesday in a letter to union members that his name does not appear on the list of candidates for this year’s upcoming elections because he intends to stick with the pledge he made when he returned in 2021 and only serve two years.
“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.”
The news came as the candidates for the next vote were announced, with only Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, currently the union’s vice president, named as a candidate for president.
Cullen and Christopher Kyle, who is on the nominating list as the only candidate for secretary-treasurer, are members of the Guild’s bargaining committee, as is Erica Saleh, the only candidate for vice president.
Winship acknowledged that his departure in the midst of the historic double Hollywood strike is “unfortunate,” but added, “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,” he added. “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.”
Winship quipped that “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!”
In addition to its elected officers, the union’s governing body, called the Council of the Writers Guild of America East, also includes 20 members representing Film/TV/Streaming and Online Media.
A dozen candidates are up for the six open seats in the Film/TV/Streaming sector.
The candidate list includes current Council members Sasha Stewart, Liz Hynes, Benjamin Rosenblum, Greg Iwinski and Josh Gondelman. Running for the first time are David Angelo, Ian Olympio, Sara Montana, Sofia Alvarez, Zhubin Parang, Hallie Haglund and Nick Bernardone.
There are five candidates for the three open council seats in the Online Media sector. They include current member Caitlin Cruz and new candidates Sie Morley, Samantha Smylie, Levi Winslow and David Lumb.
Voting will being Sept. 6 online and Sept. 21 in person. The two-year terms begin Sept. 22.
