WGA East president Michael Winship will not be seeking re-election amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

“This is a decision that was made right from the start two years ago when I was asked to return to the presidency,” Winship said in a statement sent to guild members Tuesday, just as WGAE revealed the candidates up for officer seats in its upcoming council election this September. “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.”

Per Winship, “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.”

According to WGA, the candidates for officer seats include Lisa Takeuchi Cullen for president, Chris Kyle for secretary-treasurer and Erica Saleh for vice president in the film/television/streaming work sector.

There are also 12 candidates for six council seats available in the film/television/streaming work sector: Sasha Stewart, David Angelo, Liz Hynes, Ian Olympio, Sara Montana, Sofia Alvarez, Zhubin Parang, Hallie Haglund, Nick Bernardone, Benjamin Rosenblum, Greg Iwinski and Josh Gondelman. The candidates competing for three council seats in the online media work sector are: Sie Morley, Samantha Smylie, Levi Winslow, David Lumb and Caitlin Cruz.

Voting will be available for WGAE members online or by mail beginning at 12:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Voting will take place in person on Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. at the WGAE office, with voting closing at 5 p.m.

Those candidates elected to positions will serve a two-year term beginning Friday, Sept. 22.

See Winship’s letter to WGA East members 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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