The Early History of the WGA

The history of the Writers Guild of America officially dates back to 1933 when a group of 173 writers decided to organize and stand up for accurate credits, fair compensation and respect in the motion picture industry.

Known at the time as the Screen Writers' Guild, the first few decades of the union were eventful. It's founding coincided with the passage of the New Deal-era National Labor Relations Act, which affected union membership across the nation. The first contract between writers and producers was negotiated off and on for years and was finally completed in 1942. McCarthyism and Blacklisting, which hit screenwriters particularly hard, permeated the 1950s and affected the industry for decades.

This film, created in 1985 for new members, describes these and other Guild milestones from its first three decades. The film was written, directed and produced by Michael T. Uno and narrated by longtime WGA and WGF board member Fay Kanin. It features interviews from several prominent founding members such as John Bright and Lester Cole and the the opening sequence is a short film created by writer-director George Seaton in 1951.