WHAT: The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, “Reality” TV workers, and industry supporters will unite in solidarity at a press conference tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16, to kick-off the American Idol Truth Tour to spotlight adverse working conditions in the “Reality” TV industry and call for FremantleMedia to adopt industry standard benefits for its employees.
A major television production company that produces highly rated American Idol, as well as other network primetime programs including America’s Got Talent (NBC), Million Dollar Password (CBS), and Farmer Wants A Wife (CW), FremantleMedia continues to profit from AI and its other hit shows, while writers and other behind-the-scenes workers often face substandard working conditions. FremantleMedia employees have charged the company with multiple labor law violations, including withholding overtime pay and failure to provide state-mandated meal or rest breaks, among other grievances. Currently, FremantleMedia workers do not receive industry-standard benefits guaranteed by a union contract, including pay minimums and health and pension benefits.The American Idol Truth Tour bus will depart from WGAW headquarters for San Francisco immediately following the L.A. press conference.
WHO: Speakers scheduled to appear include: WGAW Vice President David Weiss, Teamsters Local 399 President Tony Cousimano, former American Idol production assistant Justin Buckles, and “Reality” TV stars Dante (Last Comic Standing) and Megan Bobo (American Idol Season 5 contestant), as well as Jay London (Last Comic Standing), Ken Pringle (Yo Mamma), Gary Anthony Williams (Boston Legal), Kieren Van Der Blink (Numb3rs, Without A Trace), and Rebekah Kochan (Eating Out 1 & 2), and more to be announced getting on the Truth Tour bus.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 10AM
WHERE: Writers Guild of America, West
'American Idol' & Other Reality TV Workers Complain To Calif Labor Panel
I worked for Fremantle for a year in 04-05
talk about a SHIT company
Terrible place, terrible people, all of this is true
Comment by Anonymous — July 15, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
Run that bus by AFTRA, while you’re at it. Their new spanking contract could very well pave the way for exactly those conditions in the multi-billion dollar world of scripted television.
Like the New Media clause that allows non-union actors, within and under a certain budget. Just yesterday Kevin Reilly of FOX announced that he’d be willing to fund some You Tube pilots. For consideration, like a small home movie pilot presentation. Like in low budget. Guess what union that’ll go to?
’cause when you think lower budget, you’re talking AFTRA.
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
Comment by Peggy Lane O'Rourke — July 15, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
Sounds like a good start. I think you need to put pressure on the hosts of American Idol. They have the power to make changes on the show. And will do so if their reps are on the line.
Make some signs… Send some letters…
Why does Simon Cowell hate America’s unions?
Why does Paula Abdul hate America’s unions?
Why does Randy Jackson hate America’s unions?
Why does Ryan Seacrest hate America’s unions?
OR
Simon Cowell hates America’s working people.
Ryan Seacrest hates America’s working people.
That kind of thing…
Comment by George Glass — July 15, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
More proof that the suits want to pay the people who make their profit little or nothing, while they SWIM in the profits, but NO! don’t let those “reality people” ask to be cut in on what THEY make. Give it away! give it all away! SAG doesn’t deserve a fair deal! the WGA didn’t deserve a fair deal! “let’s keep working!” “take the deal!” “wait 3 years! THEN they’ll be fair!” what a bunch of gutless morons.
Comment by Toot — July 15, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
Freemantle has become the Walmart of TV companies. They make a fortune and treat their people like s*&t. Not sure if this kind of public embarassment will change things but keep it up WGA and push them until they do the right thing because they will never do it on their own. All their shows have writers and they pretend that they don’t. No one buys that lie anymore. How much would it really cost them to have a couple of WGA contracts on their shows? Probably a lot less than the lawsuits and sponsors who pull out from their shows because of the negative publicity.
Comment by Jenlove — July 15, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
hey, George, American Idol is Union, at least the crew is, as are the editors.
Maybe if WGA want’s in, they should try doing it the old way… organize it.
Comment by union town — July 15, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Go right ahead. It won’t make any difference. You can scream and yell all you want about how unfair and ruthless Fremantle and their fetid brethren are but it’s useless.
They will ALWAYS screw workers over because they ALWAYS have and gotten away with it. The public doesn’t care, and neither does the CA state government. Having worked in reality production before, I can tell you that everyone in the Biz holds reality show staff people in contempt and think anyone who works on one is a talentless hack who can’t cut it in the scripted world.
This bus tour is nothing but a waste of gas. Trust me, NOBODY CARES.
Comment by tom — July 15, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
union town wrote:
>hey, George, American Idol is Union, at least the >crew is, as are the editors.
that’s the point they have union crews, dga director, and union talent…but no WGA writers. They think they can pick and choose who get treated fairly?
>Maybe if WGA want’s in, they should try doing it the >old way… organize it.
Uh, that’s the whole point of what the WGA is doing. Many of the people who are helping the guild fight the big greedy companies who are giving the middle finger to the WGA are people who write reality and game shows and are being denied the benefits. They are putting their jobs in jeopardy by doing so but it’s one of the ways it will force the companies to go guild. It is going to take all writers pushing for this whether they write reality or not. Some of these companies are getting into scripted shows like sitcoms and variety shows. It’s only a matter of time before they try to do those non-union, too.
Comment by They Are Organizing — July 16, 2008 @ 1:10 am
I agree with Tom. I will also add I will give a shit about crew on a reality show getting an extra piss beak as soon as all of the writers and producers start paying their assistants (ya know, the ones who work 50+ hours a week on $400/week ’salaried’ position with no health, retirement, paid vacation benefits of which to speak of. Yes, I realize there is a 10% of the assistant world that doesn’t get fucked but that is a tiny tiny group)
I will tell you when the writers and producers will start doing that: half past NEVER.
Comment by manny — July 16, 2008 @ 1:13 am
Typical Verrone. Can’t get a decent deal for his own membership, now wasting WGA time and resources on a GUARANTEED hopeless attempt to organize others. Remind me of our impeachment provisions????
Comment by StickingWithMyUnion — July 16, 2008 @ 7:12 am
I was a performer on America’s Got Talent, another Freemantle show. The Vegas Boot Camp is designed to humiliate the human being. As a performer I signed a contract promising not to tell, so I will be sued for millions of dollars if I tell. Anyway the way it all works is they keep you locked sort of in a room, well not completely locked, you can go to the bathroom and stuff. But for days on end we are all left in a room then our emotions manipulated to heightened our responses when the camera hits us with news. For instance I was told I was not doing well, led to believe I would not get on the show. Then they let me move on to the next round. Then they crashed me later. I was in real emotional problems. Then they sent a psychologist to try to help me. I guess they need a psychologists on the staff more than they need writers.
Comment by The Flying Cowboy Juggler — July 16, 2008 @ 10:14 am
Manny–The vast majority of staff writers on tv shows don’t hire their own assistants, they are hired by the producers and assigned to the writers.
Time for the assistants to organize as well.
Comment by Dax — July 16, 2008 @ 11:40 am
The Teamsters are also cut out of Fremantle shows — with the result that 21-year-old PAs are driving the trucks. Which is not only shitty from a union perspective but downright dangerous. That’s why the Teamsters are partnering with the WGA in telling the truth about the non-union labor in shows like “American Idol.” Go 399.
Comment by Ashley Gable — July 16, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
I continue to be impressed by how easily Verrone et al identify things about which few of the actual WGA membership gives a damn, spend money on pointless efforts to promote those things, and then feign surprise at their lack of success.
At best, this is all about pretending that reality is a strike issue. In the past, there have been attempts to create that impression so that reality has some negotiating value when dealing with AMPTP.
The problem is that AMPTP knows reality is not a strike issue. It will never be. AMPTP knows it’s just a bargaining chip that has zero value to the guild. The AMPTP confirmed that when Verrone et al removed it and animation from the table in exchange for absolutely NOTHING.
The only surprising thing about items removed from the table by WGA in exchange for nothing was that Verrone et al valued home video residual increases as much as reality and animation. That confirmed Verrone’s stupidity.
When the bus ride is over, the simple fact that will continue to be true is that no one is giving up another three month’s pay for crew members from “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
And AMPTP knows it.
And because AMPTP knows it, FremantleMedia could give a shit how much fuel the WGA wastes on a bus trip to San Francisco.
Even the fans4writers skytyping at the Tournament of Roses parade will have received more press coverage than this will.
Comment by Harold — July 16, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
To people who point to one particular strike, say this year’s WGA strike, and say it wasn’t worth it. Without the real threat of strikes everyone in the industry except top above-the-line talent will be working under the kinds of conditions described here. The only reason conditions are better for any working class member of the film and TV industry is the result of all the strikes that came before.
Anybody who wants to see what would happen if unions stopped striking, they need to look no further than the non-union segments of the business.
Comment by writer — July 16, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
Harold, you need to get over your Verrone hatefest. The guy is one of the best the WGA has ever had.
And as far as your opinion about the importance of reality you couldn’t be more wrong. Something like 60% of TV shows on right now fall into this category and most of them hide their writers under titles like segment producer or associate producer. It’s all written. The writers who work these shows deserve the same industry standard benefits just as much as the writers on sitcoms and features. Even if some like you don’t care if they get it or not, it is the right thing to do. These big corporations do whatever they can to save money. Screwing people is part of their plan and will only change when those people and the WGA start demanding it. These big reality companies are making a fortune and the reason the strike went on as long as it did. And if you need a selfish reason to get behind this issue, assuming that you are a writer, then know this…they will all start doing scripted programs soon and do them non-union. When that happens you’ll realize why it is important that all writers need to be represented.
Comment by ice princess — July 16, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
Hey Ice princess, if things are so bad working in reality, how come none of those people have walked off the job? other than the Top Model folks, of course, but they were paid to walk off by the WGA.
Comment by union town — July 16, 2008 @ 9:21 pm
Hey Union Town, I can’t speak for all people working on these shows but I did walk off mine and others have too. It’s a deep seated problem and people have to make a living, although things would change tomorrow if ALL writers on these shows would walk off. Realisically that ain’t gonna happen…but the tide is turning. Many writers on these shows who are getting screwed will come on board and you will see the companies starting to get the message. It’s just business, baby. They have union directors, hosts, and crews…they have been getting away with non-union writers for a long time. But, that time is coming to an end. The guild is expending a lot of time, money, and energy into changing how things are done because it ultimately affects all writers.
Comment by Ice Princess — July 16, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
And my last comment on this…promise.
I noticed Variety earlier today covered the WGA “Truth” tour protest and now the article has mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmm…
And nothing on THR site. Guess they don’t want to rattle the $$$$ cage.
Comment by Ice Princess — July 16, 2008 @ 11:13 pm