WGA West Striking Staff Lose Health Insurance as PWGA Eligibility Lapses

Overview

• About 115 WGA West staffers in the Writers Guild Staff Union lost PWGA health coverage on Wednesday and can continue it only by paying for COBRA.
• Union co-chair Missy Brown said members learned late Tuesday that coverage would end and she criticized the lack of notice from the health plan and the guild.
• Staff must log 31 work hours a week in the prior month to stay eligible, unlike writers who qualify by annual earnings, which kept many writers covered during the 2023 strike.
• WGSU accused guild leaders of trying to break the strike, while WGA West called the cutoff an administrative rule and said its contract offer remains on the table with disputes over seniority and a wage scale still unresolved.
• The internal fight now intersects with the guild’s studio negotiations as staffers picket outside talks, and any coverage extension would run through union and studio trustees who jointly oversee the PWGA plan.