Members of the Writers Guild of America West have turned down a proposal that would have allowed elected leaders to serve longer in office before re-election.
The vote Tuesday fell just 11 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for adoption of the rule change.
If passed, the amendment would have changed the WGA West’s annual election to a contest held on a cycle of two of every three years, starting in 2021.
The current terms for officers and board members would also have been lengthened from two to three years, and it would have allowed officers to remain for six years, rather than the current four years. In addition, board members would have been able to stay in office for nine years instead of eight.
In the end, 702 voted in favor and 368 opposed, and the current rules will remain.
However, two other amendments were passed — one to reduce the number of board candidates the WGA’s nominating committee is required to nominate during each election, and the other to reduce the number of supporting signatures that candidates need to be nominated when they run by petition for officer positions and for the board.
These changes are designed “to make the guild’s election process more compatible with the actual work of union governance,” WGA West President Howard Rodman said in a statement to members.