ALL: WGA fi-core lists

[janea4old]

WGA Financial Core (fi-core) list

Posting their full lists of fi-core writers. Most are soap writers, but some are not.

The Writers Guild of America has two branches: WGA-West and WGA-East.

West and East each have their own lists of fi-core writers.
Important to look at both lists.

According to their websites, "fi-core is forever",
so if you elected to go fi-core for one episode 30 years ago, you are still fi-core today.

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The 2007-2008 Writers Strike was from November 5, 2007 to February 12, 2008.

2007-2008 Fi-core list via The Hollywood Reporter as of April 2008:
The info in the article is from lists released by the WGA East and West in letters.
This article has a paragraph listing WGA-West fi-core writers,
and a separate paragraph listing for WGA-East fi-core writers.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wga-outs-fi-core-members-109825/

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The 2023 Writers Strike was from May 2, 2023 through September 27, 2023.

This is the 2023 WGA-West list of all fi-core writers in the history of of WGA-West,
listed by the year they went fi-core, from 1991 through 2023.
https://www.wga.org/members/membership-information/wgaw-financial-core-list
 

This is the 2023 WGA-East list of all fi-core writers in the history of of WGA-East,
with no dates listed, from the past through 2023, organized alphabetically by surname:
https://www.wgaeast.org/enforcement/wgae-financial-core-list/

Note these changes in names, comparing the 2007-2008 list and the 2023 list:

Cita Maria Arena (aka Maria Arena or Maria Arena Bell)
Jeanne Marie Ford (formerly known as Jeanne M. Grunwell)
Marlene McPherson (formerly known as Marlene Poulter Clark)
Priscilla Kay Alden (aka Priscilla Alden or Kay Alden)
James Harmon Brown (aka James Brown)
Frances Myers (aka Fran Myers or Frances Myers Newman)

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2007-2008 fi-core list

WEST
2007-2008 WGA-West fi-core writers
since deceased, thus no longer listed by WGA-West in 2023:

• Barbara J. Esensten
• Hogan Sheffer
• James E. Reilly

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WEST
2007-2008 WGA-West fi-core writer
who is *not* listed by WGA-West as fi-core in 2023:

• Clem Egan (from PASSIONS)

Reason for the discrepancy: Unknown.
Possibly deceased, or changed name, 
or accidentally omitted in 2023, or incorrectly listed in 2007-2008.
Clem Egan was on the original WGA-West list, so The Hollywood Reporter did say what WGA said at that time.
Archive from July 2008:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080716011439/http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2828

Edit: update June 2024, @JAS0N47 confirmed that Clem Egan is deceased,
per a WGA directory that includes deceased members (Link)

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WEST 2007
2007 fi-core list from WGA-West
(still listed as fi-core by WGA-West in 2023)

• Cita Maria Arena (aka Maria Arena or Maria Arena Bell)
• Darrell R. Thomas (aka Darrell Ray Thomas Jr.)
• Garin Wolf
• Gary Tomlin
• George Clooney
• Janeen A. Vogelaar
• Jeanne Marie Ford (fomerly known as Jeanne M. Grunwell)
• John F. Cosgrove
• Mark Christopher Higley
• Marlene McPherson (formerly known as Marlene Poulter Clark)
• Meg Kelly
• Michelle Poteet Lisanti
• Paula F. Cwikly
• Shawn Morrison
• Terry A. Meurer

WEST 2008
WGA-West fi-core list
(still listed as fi-core by WGA-West in 2023)

• Dena Higley
• John F. Smith
• John Ridley
• Richard Alan Alexander
• Rick Davis
• Thomas E. Eberhardt

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Full WGA-WEST fi-core list 1981-2023

https://www.wga.org/members/membership-information/wgaw-financial-core-list

This full WGA-West list includes non-soap writers who went
fi-core in the years 1981, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001,
the above 2007-2008 list of names from WGA-West,
and those from WGA-West who went fi-core or left the union during
2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

These names added to the WGA-West fi-core list in 2023:

• Sheri Anderson
• Lucas Carter
• Dan Gordon
• Michael Minnis
• Mark Pinciotti
• Ben Poole
• Matthew Sand

 

IMPORTANT to remember that WGA says "fi-core is forever".
So anyone listed as fi-core in 2007-2008 was *still* fi-core in 2023.
That means that those writing during the 2023 strike
could have already been fi-core from previous years, or they could be newly fi-core.

We have known for a year that Sheri Anderson is on the 2023 list; but it doesn't necessarily mean she was writing for DAYS -- she could have been writing for any soap, film, show, or project that was "struck" by the Guild in 2023.
Even if she were writing for a soap, it doesn't necessarily mean she wrote during the entire five months of the strike.

Anyone could be put on the fi-core lists if they worked on a struck project during the strike period - even if it was only for a few episodes or one episode.

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EAST
2007-2008 WGA-East fi-core list 
Per April 2008 The Hollywood Reporter article

• Priscilla Kay Alden (aka Priscilla Alden or Kay Alden)
• James Harmon Brown (aka James Brown)
• Michael Conforti (aka Michael Conforti III)
• Victor Gialanella
• Josh Griffith
• Frances Myers (aka Fran Myers or Frances Myers Newman)
• Pete T. Rich

Added to the WGA-East fi-core list AFTER the 2008 strike:
In addition to the 2007-2008 names, there are now these names:
Per WGA-East website (dates added not specified)-- 
added from 2009 through 2023.
It is not known if any of these were writing during the 2023 strike:

• Jon Robin Baitz
• Mitchell Kriegman
• Daran Little
• Josh Selig
• Tyler Perry
• Garry Trudeau

Of those added to WGA-East fi-core list during the period from 2009-2023,
only Daran Little has soap writing experience.
He has written for Coronation Street, AMC, and Y&R.
But there's no way to know when he became fi-core, it could have been any time in the past 20 years.

Jon Robin Baitz became fi-core in 2019 per this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Robin_Baitz
and this
https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/jon-robin-baitz-wga-agent-defy-fire-caa-1203190402/

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There is no information on these lists that we didn't already know.
We've known for a year that Sheri Anderson is on the list; but it doesn't necessarily mean she was writing for Days -- she could have been writing for any film, show, or project that was "struck" by the Guild in 2023. Even if she were writing for Days, it doesn't necessarily mean she wrote during the entire five months of the strike. 

Anyone could be put on the fi-core lists if they worked on a struck project during the strike period - even if it was only for a few episodes or one episode.

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My understanding is that Writers Guild members who worked during the strikes or otherwise violated Guild rules, can be classified as no longer in good standing with the Guild.
They are then ineligible to vote in Guild votes or receive Guild awards, but can still work per national labor rules that apply to all industries.
The history of fi-core came from the auto workers union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_core#Origin
 

These were the WGA 2023 strike rules:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230923000657/https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/strike-rules-faq 
with more detail here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230923000717/https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/strike-rules 

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Non-writers (never in WGA) who unofficially wrote during the strikes ...
were maybe not listed on the fi-core lists.
It is important to note that people who were never writers Guild members to begin with 
(such as receptionists, accountants, janitors, friends) 
if they helped out during the strike -
if they were never WGA to begin with then (maybe) there would be no record of them,
and they would not be on the fi-core lists.
However, if they later tried to join the WGA, and the truth came out, no idea what would happen then.

This is a 2008 article about the 2007-2008 writers strike. Note that it mentions that sometimes nonwriters were secretly writing during the strike.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240109234634/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/arts/television/21soap.html

Edited July 19, 2024 by janea4old

[Contessa Donatella]

This is an excellent compendium of information! Kudos. Thanks for drawing my attention to this. 

My understanding differs from yours only a small bit. People who declare fi-core status are dues-paying members who are eligible for certain benefits that accrue to them, but they can never vote, never hold office, never chair a committee, never serve on a committee, never compete for or receive any award. Fi-core came out of a lawsuit in an industry totally unrelated to soaps or entertainment. The WGA had no choice about fi-core. They had to implement it.

I'm not suggesting this is a better description.