The American Writers Association’s West’s disciplinary vote on members accused of violating strike rules showed that, at least, was a split alliance on the issue.

In the case of three writers, the disciplinary measures initially decided by the union board were maintained, but the profit margins were high (52% to nearly 55%). A few months after the alliance publicly cautioned the member, the fourth author's "public condemnation" sentence for what was considered offensive Facebook post was overturned to take alternative action, while 62% voted to punish.

Julie Bush is a union member for about 15 years Anarchic sonis one of the members of the lawsuit confirming discipline on Friday.

On May 22, after the 2023 writers strike began, Bush sent a revision of the pilot she wrote to a non-signature company. The union’s work rule 8 prohibits writers from working with non-signature companies, but Bush said the company promises to eventually become a signator, and she is working with the union to achieve that. Once work was shut down, strike rules stipulated that union members could not work for the striker's companies, which had not yet.

Bush said she "very regretted" sending the script, which caused "confusion and harm" to the "guild rules"; the union called it "sc foot writing." Ultimately, the five-member trial committee and union committee found Bush guilty of a violation of the strike rules. Instead, Bush was disciplined for engaging in an act that “biased the welfare of the guild” (a violation of an article in the union’s constitution) and writing for non-signature companies.

Until 2026, she was sentenced to a suspension by the board and permanently banned from taking non-elected positions in the league, a severe punishment rather than the punishment originally recommended by the pilot committee.

Now, members have voted to approve the temporary exile. In an interview, Bush discussed why she decided to appeal first, how she felt about the close results and why she planned to report the recent litigation process to the Labor and National Labor Relations Commission.

Hollywood Reporter Contacted WGA West for comment.

What was your initial reaction to today’s results?

I was obviously disappointed. Guilds have been my main community since I first realized my dream and I continue to love these people and guilds. I received a lot of great messages and I think I was a little fooling myself and thought I would have the upper hand. So I'm very upset right now, honestly. I was surprised, frustrated and disappointed.

However, in recent years the way the guilds have developed, they have become this top-down autocratic structure where there will be no objection. Everyone has to move in a way. So, in a sense, I shouldn't be surprised at all. I do feel that's all, and I think that's what drives this result.

I wonder if you can respond to the voting statistics provided by the Writers Association, because in your case the results are close.

In my case, the actual vote was 745, which was conducive to maintenance, with 686 votes in favor of the decision to resume the trial committee. That's the difference between just 59 votes. I have never seen guild votes in all years (as a comprehensive, active member for ten years) see guild votes in less than 90% of the way. It's almost a true 50-50 tie. So I just told Van Robichaux that he was an excellent guild member who represented me through the whole torture, with an incredible act of solidarity: “I hope you are proud of everything you have done here.” Because it was a great move by David and the Giant that he and I did. So, I believe this marks a turning point. I believe the members of the guild are ready for change and I think that's the signal of this vote.

Why did you decide to appeal the ruling in a case - What is this idea?

When they first made accusation of me, I couldn't believe it because it was doubtful and very controversial to know whether I had violated any rules. I knew from the beginning that I did not violate any strike rules, which has actually been confirmed by the trial committee, and I know if I even violated Work Rule 8. I think this is a situation where these groups are eager to find any scapegoat so they can bring someone to membership, like, "Look, look, we have somebody." This is by no means a clear case, I've ever done anything wrong.

Can you explain the “alternative action” you proposed as punishment and why it is considered appropriate?

What the boards raised in the new appeal process they had completely invented, and it was not part of the (guild) constitution, and they said to me, "You need to propose your own alternative action and the members will vote." So I said, OK, so I will participate in this new fiction, fictional process, under protest because I was worried that if I didn't participate, I would waive the right to appeal. Therefore, I submitted the specific language for my alternative actions. I am very cautious about my wording because as writers we know the wording of language, especially in something that is heated.

In my memory, the way I worded it was: "Restoring the Judicial Committee's decision: a private condemnation and a three-year injunction to serve as captain." This is the exact punishment the Judicial Committee gave me. The problem is that when I actually see the election department submitting a vote for membership, they stripped this important background from the language of my alternative actions (this is the initial punishment proposed by the trial committee). So they just said, “Julie Bush’s alternative action is a private letter of condemnation and prohibited as captain for three years.” Then, I actually saw members debate in a private WGA Facebook group, and they were actually saying, “If she doesn’t even understand the rules, why would she want to be captain?” It’s all the punishment I did for myself. This is the punishment assigned to me by the trial committee. So the election department has divested the language and it actually makes a big difference.

Have your perception of the guild changed since this process?

Yes, for sure. I used to be one of those who fully 100% support the board, and whatever the board says, I am your soldier. And I just don't feel that anymore. I just really realize that they don't necessarily know what they are doing, not even know the rules, and even though they claim to be experts on these issues, they just don't know, not even know the law.

Your next step is what you will do today?

We will go directly to the Ministry of Labor and NLRB. I'm going to send them everything I have and let them be sure exactly what's going on here.

Do you want to add anything else?

The message I just want to convey is that I want to be a writer all my life. This is my identity. This experience was absolutely devastating to me. Entering the guild is one of the best things that have happened in my life and I can’t believe it happened to me. It's absolutely devastating, frightening, frustrating. If anything, I will take years to overcome this.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.