Posts tagged Writers Guild of America East
Fred Rogers Prod. & Spiffy Pictures Animation Writers Unionize Under WGA East-PBS Contract
September 15, 2025 // The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) announced Friday that children’s entertainment studios Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures have both recognized the organization for collective bargaining for animation writers working on their public television programs. The move achieves unionization for writers on future seasons of PBS KIDS favorites Alma’s Way, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Carl the Collector.
CBS News Digital Staffers Say Fight for Contract Improvements Continue a Year After WGA Unionization
June 20, 2025 // The unionized journalist, editors and social media producers call on management to meet “in good faith” ahead of their current last scheduled bargaining date of June 24
A+E Factual Studios staff is the latest to unionize
September 25, 2024 // The WGA says the A+E drive is their most significant to date in unscripted television. (Frankel’s union is seeking representation under SAG-AFTRA, the actors guild.) The workers are currently seeking to secure improvements to salary, healthcare, paid time off, and minimum time to rest in between shifts.
Crooked Media Union Stages Walkout After More Than A Year Of Contract Negotiations
August 6, 2024 // The WGAE accuses Crooked Media of excluding several staff members from the bargaining unit “in an effort to undermine the union and deprive those workers of their collective bargaining rights.” Founded in 2017 by former President Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, Crooked Media produces podcasts including Pod Save America, What a Day, Hall of Shame and Lovett It or Leave It.
Writers At iHeartPodcast Network Ratify First Contract More Than 2 Years After Unionizing With WGA
June 27, 2024 // There will be no strike after all for the writers at iHeart Podcast Network. The 100-member bargaining unit of the Writers Guild of America East has “overwhelmingly” ratified its first deal with the network, the union announced on Monday. The ratification comes after more than two years of negotiations and an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the management at iHeart.
Sesame Workshop Writers Authorize Potential Strike
April 18, 2024 // In the negotiations for a new contract, which began on Feb. 13, the union is seeking to institute “industry standard” annual raises and fixed residuals for re-use on streaming platforms, as well as a performance-based bonus when their work does well on streaming platforms. They are also looking to expand their contract to cover writing for animation and social media work, which would add members to the existing bargaining unit. They are further working on regulating the use of AI within the contract and establishing a paid parental leave fund. “No one wants to see a picket line on Sesame Street,” WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “Millions of parents and families around the world are going to have a lot of questions. They might ask why the bosses at Sesame Workshop are ignoring their company’s own messages of kindness and fairness.”
The Onion Union Gets Strike Authorization, Accuses G/O Media Of Bad Faith Bargaining Through “Threatening And Intimidating Behavior”
February 5, 2024 // In addition to pay increases, the Onion Union is seeking contractual protections in the event that the company is sold. This comes after the union hit back at G/O Media management after the closure of Jezebel in November, writing in a statement at the time, “our hostile and incompetent management made no effort to work with the union to find a less cruel alternative arrangement…” The union is also seeking improved severance given the ongoing layoffs, as well as basic protections against AI — another area in which employees throughout the company are speaking from experience, given G/O Media previously published AI-generated articles on several of its sites, much to the ire of the staff.
Staffers at Malcolm Gladwell’s podcasting firm Pushkin Industries are unionizing
November 20, 2023 // Staffers at the cash-strapped company — which recently laid off dozens of employees — joined the Writers Guild of America East, the labor union announced on Thursday. The union said it plans to commence talks with the company “as soon as possible” on a collective bargaining agreement.
Drew Barrymore’s Talk Show Is Returning — Without Her Striking Writers
September 12, 2023 // She added that she was approaching the new season, which premieres Sept. 18, “with an astute humility” — despite the optics of resuming her show during two strikes, which have called attention to inequitable working conditions in film and television.
CNET Workers Unionize as ‘Automated Technology Threatens Our Jobs’
May 18, 2023 // “The digital media landscape is transforming rapidly,” reads a letter written to CNET management explaining the workers’ choice to organize. “In this time of instability, our diverse content teams need industry-standard job protections, fair compensation, editorial independence and a voice in the decision-making process, especially as automated technology threatens our jobs and reputations. A union will help us adapt to new business strategies while establishing high journalistic standards and practices.” The rapid development of AI models like ChatGPT-4 has recently caused lots of concern in writing industries. The ongoing film and TV writers’ strike has labeled AI as a serious point of contention between workers and management, and the union wants to “regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies” in its contract to protect writers’ jobs. AI isn’t yet good enough to replace a team of writers, but it is cheaper.