John Oliver and Seth Meyers are helping to shine a light on stalled negotiations between the Writers Guild and PBS.
The two late-night hosts are among 1,250 Writers Guild of America members who have signed a petition calling for the public TV network to engage in conversation with writers and secure a deal with the union after months of delay.
The WGA is seeking “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.”
Per TheWrap, the petition was delivered to PBS management Thursday morning at the start of the day’s negotiations. The WGA represents 150 freelance writers based at PBS affiliates WGBH, THIRTEEN, and PBS SoCal.
The guild wrote that it has waited “since July” to meet, but that PBS leadership has yet to “come to the table with their proposals or respond to ours until the end of September, for a contract that was supposed to expire on October 9.”
WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement, “For writers, PBS has always been a cherished friend and teacher. 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,” Cullen added. “Now is not the time for PBS to test the mettle and solidarity of WGA members. We demand a fair contract, now.”
Oliver and Meyers have long advocated for fair working conditions and pay for writers. In August 2023, they teamed up with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel to create and host the Strike Force Five podcast, which supported their employees who were out of work during last year’s Hollywood strikes.
