Saturday Night Live post-production workers have signed a contract averting a forthcoming strike.
After unionising in October with the Motion Picture Editors Guild, a group of 12-20 staff members who work on the pre-taped segments and sketches in the weekly comedy series had called for increased pay and maintained healthcare coverage.
The post-production crew said that NBC Universal had “refused” to meet their needs and were calling for a strike on Saturday 1 April.
However, after a deal was tentatively reached earlier this week, a vote was unanimously passed by the staffers on Wednesday (22 March) and their contracts were officially ratified on Thursday (23 March).
Under the new contract, The Hollywood Reporter reports, postproduction workers will be given immediate pay increases ranging from 7.5 to 33.5 per cent increases compared to their previous pay rates. During the three-year contract, workers’ pay raises will eventually increase up to 60 per cent, the union stated.
Crew members will all receive healthcare and be able receive employer-paid meals, hotel stays and transportation when working especially late hours.
The union’s national executive director Cathy Repola praised the staffers for their “impressive” “solidarity and bravery”.
“They fought not just to improve their own working lives; they have also set a standard that will benefit all those who follow in their footsteps at this TV comedy institution,” she said. “It was an honour to work with them on reaching this significant agreement.”
According to the Editors Guild, editorial crew members on SNL were played far lower than industry standards and other editors on the show.
NBC Universal had also aimed to bring in a “two-tiered” health insurance system, as well as give management the right to “unilaterally change workplace rules and policies” and subcontract work, they claimed.
The next live episode of Saturday Night Live will now go ahead on 1 April without strike action.
