EXCLUSIVE: Writers at PBS member stations are nonetheless hoping to safe a brand new union contract earlier than the clock strikes midnight on Friday, and the 94-member bargaining unit strengthened its plea forward of a possible strike with a pledge from greater than 200 PBS animation writers who’ve agreed to not cross their potential picket line.
The WGA East negotiating committee delivered the pledge to PBS administration throughout Wednesday’s talks, simply at some point earlier than a strike may very well be referred to as, Deadline has discovered.
It’s signed by 222 writers throughout greater than 20 animated sequence which are not at present lined by the Writers Guild of America Public Tv Freelance Settlement as a present of solidarity.
“By including my identify, I pledge to assist the WGA win union safety for all PBS writers beneath the Public Tv Freelance Settlement by withholding any and all writing companies, together with for animation, on any current or new initiatives for all corporations which are signatory to the Public Tv Freelance Settlement…” the pledge reads.
Signatories of the pledge write for reveals together with Alma’s Approach, Carl the Collector, Cyberchase, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Molly of Denali, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and Work It Out Wombats!
Among the many signees are Tim McKeon, co-creator of Odd Squad and creator of Helpsters, who mentioned in an announcement: “Having labored in youngsters’ TV as each producer and author for 20 years, there isn’t any purpose that animation writers ought to proceed to be handled as second class residents in comparison with different writers at PBS. Correcting this injustice is lengthy, lengthy overdue… which is why I signed and completely assist the strike pledge.”
PBS animation writers will not be at present lined beneath this settlement, although that is without doubt one of the issues the WGA is hoping to vary with this new deal.
Among the many priorities this bargaining cycle, which the WGA East says that they’ve been unable to safe to this point, embody union protections for animation writers, compensation for writer-producers, WGA protection of all made-for-new-media applications and residual funds for reuse on streaming companies.
June Thiele, a author on Molly of Denali, referred to as consideration to the “disparity in compensation and advantages between PBS writers who aren’t lined by WGA contracts and people who are lined” of their assertion.
“Proper now I’m within the unlucky place the place my spouse and I reside with out medical insurance as a consequence of an incapacity to self-pay,” Thiele’s assertion learn. “With the ability to be a part of the WGA can be game-changing for us – not solely to have advantages, however to have office protections and a capability to plan for our household’s future.”
Earlier this week, the writers at PBS member stations WGBH, THIRTEEN and PBS SoCal formally licensed a strike, ought to they be unable to achieve a deal by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 21.
If a strike does go into impact, all WGA members can be prohibited from performing struck work for PBS and PBS member stations. The union can even be picketing at THIRTEEN in New York, WGBH in Boston and at PBS SoCal in Los Angeles.
