Will the WGA unionize the writers of YouTube?

Two years after the resolution of the Hollywood labor disputes, the Writers Guild of America is debating whether to include YouTube-based scribes in its numbers. With the WGA West election cycle underway, YouTube is a significant topic of discussion, as the platform pays the bills for a rising number of writers who are not currently represented by a traditional union.

Several candidates who are running for WGA West board seats have expressed the belief that YouTube-based programming is just as prominent as traditional studio fare. One of those candidates, Dahéli Hall, argued that the “non-union writers” in “the YouTube space” should “become partners and be protected as a union.

Another advocate for the collective bargaining of digital-native writers is Adam Conover, an incumbent WGA board member who has plenty of YouTube experience of his own. A decade ago, in tandem with the media company then known as CollegeHumor, Conover led Adam Ruins Everything, a sassy explainer series that was eventually picked up by TruTV.

“They now make scripted, narrative content like sitcoms and soap operas that compete directly with the studios that traditionally employ us,” Conover remarked on the subject of YouTube-based writers. “Like it or not, this is the future of television.”

The WGA is no stranger to the world of YouTube and has previously made overtures to the writers who earn their paychecks on the internet. The WGA Awards, for example, have long feted web series through a new media category.

The 2023 entertainment industry strikes changed the relationship between Hollywood unions and the creator economy. Unlike during the 2007-08 strike, when YouTube uploads were seen as wholly different from studio productions, the 2023 work stoppage clarified the parallels between the striking creatives and their digital-native brethren. Both groups, for example, have concerns about how generative AI will affect their shared livelihood

. To underscore their solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions, many creators signed a “labor over likes” pledge, promising not to serve as scabs.

After the strikes subsided, the unions made moves to embrace the creators who had supported their grievances. That effort began at SAG-AFTRA, which announced earlier this year that it planned to bring influencers into its ranks. Now, the WGA is considering whether to make a similar move.

YouTube-based writers could certainly benefit from stronger representation, but the WGA must consider the same conundrum that has complicated previous unionization efforts in the digital space. Platforms like YouTube employ massive numbers of writers who have diverse and wide-ranging needs. Or to put it another way: Is it possible for one advocacy group to serve both MrBeast and Ms. Rachel?

Some previous attempts to answer that question, such as Hank Green’s Internet Creators Guild, ultimately stalled. The union-esque organizations that currently exist, such as the Creators Guild of America, focus more on professional services than traditional union duties like collective bargaining.

It won’t be easy for the WGA to solve that riddle, but as Conover expressed, it’s time to figure out a solution. Traditional studios are moving online, and creators are gunning for the biggest prizes in the TV world. In that environment, the needs of YouTube-based talent shouldn’t be minimized any longer; can the WGA be the organization that fills in the gaps?