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 in the future earlier than a strike may very well be known as, Deadline has realized.
It’s signed by 222 writers throughout greater than 20 animated sequence which are not presently lined by the Writers Guild of America Public Tv Freelance Settlement as a present of solidarity.
“By including my title, I pledge to assist the WGA win union safety for all PBS writers below the Public Tv Freelance Settlement by withholding any and all writing companies, together with for animation, on any current or new initiatives for all firms which are signatory to the Public Tv Freelance Settlement…” the pledge reads.
Signatories of the pledge write for reveals together with Alma’s Means, 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 a press release: “Having labored in youngsters’ TV as each producer and author for 20 years, there isn’t any cause 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 help the strike pledge.”
PBS animation writers will not be presently lined below this settlement, although that is among 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 so far, 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, known 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 on account of an incapacity to self-pay,” Thiele’s assertion learn. “Having the ability to be a part of the WGA could 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 approved 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 could be prohibited from performing struck work for PBS and PBS member stations. The union may also be picketing at THIRTEEN in New York, WGBH in Boston and at PBS SoCal in Los Angeles.