The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
Strike Averted! For SNL Workers, at Least
A Saturday Night Live strike threat has passed. The show’s postproduction workers, who are unionized with the Motion Picture Editors Guild, voted unanimously March 22 to support their first contract with the NBC program. The bargaining unit of 12 to 20 staffers (the number of those working on the pretaped segments of SNL fluctuates per episode) unionized with the IATSE local in October after management voluntarily recognized the group.
The unit had threatened to strike if a deal hadn’t been reached by April 1. However, the sides landed on a tentative agreement in mid-March that would boost workers’ pay and keep them covered by a health care plan. “The solidarity and bravery of this crew are just so impressive,” MPEG national executive director Cathy Repola noted. “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.”
The deal is set to offer these workers immediate raises ranging from 7.5 percent to 33.5 percent compared with their previous pay rates. During the three-year contract, raises will increase up to 60 percent, the union stated. All crewmembers will receive health care coverage as a result of the deal, and they can receive employerpaid meals, hotel stays and transportation if they work especially late hours. The strike threat was accompanied by an intense pressure campaign that involved a pro-worker petition that garnered thousands of signatures, Bernie Sanders tweeting in favor of the crew and SNL castmembers wearing “Contract Now” shirts on the air.