The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is in a dispute with cable programming giant Comcast over the unionization of writers who work on Comcast TV networks. According to the Los Angeles Times, the WGA has been trying to organize underrepresented writers who work for new media, basic cable and reality TV. Right now, they are trying to unionize some couple of dozen who work on Comcast-aired cable shows, but are meeting resistance from the company.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the WGA released a letter that was signed by 100 writers employed by various NBC Universal shows, including “30 Rock” and “House,” saying that they are in support of their future colleagues at Comcast. The letter said that the Comcast employees deserved a WGA employment contract that includes requirements on portable pensions and health benefits, fair payments for material written by employees that is reused or resold elsewhere, and other fair terms of employment.
Comcast is currently in the process of a merger with NBC Universal. The $30 billion deal is currently being reviewed by the FCC and antitrust regulators with the Justice Department to determine what conditions should be imposed on the merger deal to ensure continued competition among programming distributors.
Source:
Writers seek labor contract on Comcast shows (Los Angeles Times)