Members of the Writers Guild of America have voted to authorize a strike if a contract expires between freelance writers and three major public television stations.
The contract with GBH in Boston, the WNET Group in New York and PBS SoCal in Los Angeles expires at midnight Thursday, according to a news release. The 94-member bargaining unit unanimously voted in favor of the strike authorization, with 83% participation among members. The council for the Writers Guild of America East and the board for the Writers Guild of America West later approved the vote.
Writers for 20 animated series including Alma’s Way, Carl the Collector, Cyberchase, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Molly of Denali, Pinkalicious & Peterrific and Work It Out Wombats! signed a pledge not to cross a picket line should the union call a strike.
“Writers Guild members at PBS would much rather end the week with a fair and equitable contract than with a strike,” said WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, “but they are also willing to do what is necessary to reach an agreement that reflects their working conditions and meets their very reasonable demands.”
The existing contract has been in place since July 2019. The unions are seeking to increase the number of workers covered by the collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement does not cover writers on public TV’s animated shows or those working on PBS’ made-for-streaming content, among other groups. The union is also seeking residual payments for programs reairing on streaming services.
WNET and PBS SoCal declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations. GBH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, more than 1,250 WGA-East and WGA-West members signed a petition supporting the freelance writers. Signees included documentary filmmakers Stanley Nelson Jr. and Lynn Novick, commercial television hosts John Oliver and Seth Meyers, and Geoffrey C. Ward, who wrote for Ken Burns series including The Vietnam War, Jazz and Baseball.
The petition was also signed by people who work for national public TV series, including American Experience, American Masters, Frontline, Nova, Great Performances and Nature. Other signees include people who work on the children’s programs Alma’s Way, Cyberchase, Carl the Collector, Donkey Hodie, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Rosie’s Rules, Lyla in the Loop and more.