Primetime Writers and Executive Producers Support Reality Organizing Drive

As writers, executive producers, and proud members of the Writers Guild of America, East and west, we're no strangers to long hours and hard work. But consider the situation of one of our fellow storytellers: She's expected to work between 12 and 20 hours a day, six days a week. The good news? Her seventh day is a scout/prep day, during which there's no objection to her trying to squeeze in some personal business. Another of our fellow storytellers is denied even that: Her schedule on one show was a flat 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week, with no overtime pay. Or examine the pay stub of yet another of our fellow writers: It reflects an 84-hour work week at $7.41 an hour — and the week in question includes Christmas. What else do these horror stories and hundreds like them have in common? These men and women are denied pension, health insurance, and other basic protections of a WGA agreement. Why? Because they work in reality television.

We don't happen to work in reality, but we have a sense of justice, and that's why we're proud to stand behind the nearly 1,000 storytellers who have chosen the WGA to represent them in their struggle for fair wages and working conditions. It is disheartening to see that they have to fight to obtain the same benefits and protections our predecessors fought for and won during the 1930s and 40s. Thousands of men and women in our industry enjoy fair compensation, health and pension benefits, residuals, and decent working conditions. These storytellers are doing the same work — for the same companies — and should be treated with the same respect.

We call on the industry to do the right thing and immediately sit down and bargain with the Writers Guild of America on behalf of these storytellers. This campaign is about everything we stand for as a Guild and everything that has always been fair in Hollywood. We expect industry leaders to live up to the traditions of mutual respect and dignity that we have shared for decades and to agree to fair and responsible treatment of our fellow writers and editors in reality television.