Just Press Pay

Their pilot had been completed and turned in to Warner Bros., but writing partners Sanford Golden & Karen Wyscarver had yet to receive payment for their work. As the weeks went on, their representatives communicated with the studios only to receive evasive answers.

So Golden called the WGAW and learned about a resource he could use that might help speed up the process. 

Sanford Golden at his desk on the show Taken. Photo by Karen Wyscarver

“Someone said, ‘You need to use the Start Button,’ and that’s what I did,” said Golden. “I filled it out for my partner and I. I listed all the dates and how they hadn’t paid us. The Guild has clout. So they say, ‘Here’s the deal. It’s a contractual obligation and you have to pay it and now you’re late and it’s going to cost you late fees.’”

“So they paid us, and then a couple of weeks later, we got a separate check for the interest.”

The WGAW launched the Start Button, an online tool available to members on myWGA, in the spring of 2020 as a means of combating the chronic problem of late pay by giving feature writers and writers working on a TV pilot a way to record when they begin work on a draft and when it’s delivered. Information entered into the Start Button allows the writer to track their work. When they fill in an “Incident” or overdue payment notice, the Guild’s Legal and Contracts departments will step in to help writers get their payment and avoid free work. Thanks to data compiled through the use of the button, the WGAW has recovered tens of thousands of dollars in interest for its members.

A tutorial narrated by former WGAW Board and WGA Negotiations Committee member John August walks members through the use of the button. August, who worked extensively on the design of the tool with WGAW Vice President Michele Mulroney, continues to use it to help keep track of payment reminders.

Former WGAW Board member John August worked extensively on the design of the Start Button tool with WGAW Vice President Michele Mulroney.

The WGA’s 2023 MBA includes a new accelerated payment schedule for feature writers: 50% pay on commencement followed by 25% pay at nine weeks after commencement when an invoice is submitted and 25% on delivery for writers who are paid 200% of minimum or less. Along with the accelerated pay provision, the Start Button is another resource designed to help feature writers keep track of when they are on and off the clock.

Or, as August characterized it, “this is a way of putting some edges on that period of time that you’re working.”
  
“This is a way for the Guild to know what you’re working on, when you’re getting paid, and whether you’re getting paid properly,” August added. “I use it myself. I’m also a customer.”

Golden also declares himself a “big fan” of the button.

“A lot of people probably don’t know about it feel like they don’t want to fight to get their money,” Golden said. “But you upload your contract, someone at the Guild reads it, you fill in some information, and they do all the work.”