On April 16th, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) sent an announcement telling the general public that writers at Sesame Workshop have voted unanimously to authorize a strike against the company. The entire 35 member bargaining unit voted for the strike, and are prepared to walk the picket line if a deal isn’t reached by Friday. They say they will accept a tentative deal as well as a firm resolution by Friday which is when their current contract expires.
The strike would be for the majority of the staff there and would include any and all work for the show “Sesame Street.“
WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen released the following:
“The writers that Sesame Workshop hires are deeply committed to the work that we do. Like the Workshop itself, we are mission-driven and child-focused, and we work hard at telling stories that contribute to the Workshop’s curricula inspired by heart, curiosity, community, kindness, diversity, equity, and inclusion. No one wants to see a picket line on Sesame Street. Millions of parents and families around the world are going to have a lot of questions. They might ask why the bosses at Sesame Workshop are ignoring their company’s own messages of kindness and fairness. Our writers are integral members of our creative team, and we are engaged in good faith negotiations with the WGA. We’re still hopeful that we’ll come to an agreement in advance of the expiration.”
Negotiations for the Sesame Workshop’s new contract began February 13th. What they are asking for is annual raises, improvements to residuals and union coverage for Sesame Workshop’s animation and social media segments. So what that means is that currently there is no rule in place that people who’ve been working for Sesame Workshop for years do not have a set timeframe on raises if they receive any at all. They are also not afforded the same union coverage if they do any work for the social media accounts which should be considered a short program for the show.
If a deal is not reached by April 24th, writers will walk, and begin a strike outside Sesame Workshop offices in New York City.
