Meet the Negotiating Committee: Ashley Gable
Bio: A recovering attorney, Ashley has written for television since 1996, when she became a staff writer on the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s been afraid of the dark ever since.
What prompted you to join the Negotiating Committee?
When I first ran for a seat on the WGAW Board in 2018, I was passionate about helping writers in the then-upcoming agency campaign and 2020 negotiation. Because of the pandemic, 2020 was destined not to be the important reckoning over changes in our business; 2023 instead is that negotiation. So I’m now fighting to help writers gain the fair compensation and other remuneration we deserve as creators of content worth billions.
Tell us about a time when you have felt a strong feeling of solidarity with your fellow writers.
Captains’ meetings are probably my favorites. Our captains are so smart, informed and fun. I love looking across the WGA Theater on a Saturday morning and seeing all these amazing writers—from features to comedy-variety, showrunners to staff writers—and they’re all giving up time with their families or at least the chance to sleep in. And you can just feel this electric current in the room—that we’re in this together. It’s inspiring.
What makes the 2023 contract cycle different from past ones that you have witnessed or in which you have participated?
Writers are more powerful now than I’ve ever seen in my 26 years as a WGA member. Our strength and solidarity were hard won in the 2017 contract campaign and the agency campaign, among others. Now we will apply that strength and focus to this negotiation cycle and get what we deserve.