Writers Guild East Members Vote to Authorize a Strike Against PBS

In a strike authorization vote whose results were released Monday, participating unionized staffers unanimously supported staging a work stoppage if management and their representatives can’t come to an agreement by the end of their current contract. Eighty-three percent of members from the bargaining unit — which encompasses 94 staffers at the PBS members stations WGBH, THIRTEEN and PBS SoCal — participated in the vote. The union’s existing deal expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 21.

The WGA East’s Council and the WGA West’s Board previously voted to greenlight the strike authorization vote. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to PBS and PBS SoCal for comment. WGBH and THIRTEEN declined comment.

During this negotiation cycle, the union’s dealmakers are attempting to extend full union protections to animation writers, boost wages for staffers, place made-for-streaming projects under union jurisdiction and establish “reasonable residual payments” from streaming.

The union also announced on Monday that writers on 20 animated shows — such as Molly of Denali, Alma’s Way and Cyberchase — that are not currently covered under the contract had signed an agreement not to cross a picket line if their PBS colleagues call a strike.

“Writers Guild members at PBS would much rather end the week with a fair and equitable contract than with a strike,” WGAE president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement on Monday. “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.”

In late October, the union began applying pressure by delivering a petition to management complaining about a slow negotiations process and calling for a “fair and equitable” deal. It was signed by more than 1,250 union members, including Seth Meyers, Amber Ruffin, David Simon and John Oliver.