John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Lilly Wachowski, Amber Ruffin, David Simon and More Than 1,250 WGA Members Sign Petition to Support PBS Writers

More than 1,250 members of the Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West signed a petition to support Guild members at PBS stations THIRTEEN (New York City tri-state area), WGBH (Boston), and PBS SoCal who are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement seeking equitable union protections for animation writers, fair compensation for writer-producers, WGA coverage of made-for-new-media programs and reasonable residual payments for reuse on streaming services. So far, PBS Management has yet to meaningfully engage with the Guild’s most important proposals, including full union protections for animation writers; fair compensation for writer-producers; WGA coverage of made-for-new-media programs; and reasonable residual payments for reuse on streaming services.

“For writers, PBS has always been a cherished friend and teacher,” said WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. “Its programs taught us to love words and develop values like trust, kindness and empathy. So we expect PBS to use the remaining time before the contract deadline to live up to those values. We believe the demands the WGA has presented will allow PBS to succeed in a time when public television is needed more than ever, while ensuring fair treatment for all its writers. Now is not the time for PBS to test the mettle and solidarity of WGA members. We demand a fair contract, now.”

The petition was delivered by PBS writers to management at Wednesday’s negotiations. Read the full text along with the complete list of signatories here!