Supporters of “Saturday Night Live” post-production editors plan to leaflet outside NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Center today amid what sources described as stalled contract negotiations with the network.
On Jan. 12, the 20-odd “SNL” staff members who assemble the live sketch comedy series’ pre-taped segment approved a strike authorization vote. The editors unionized with the Motion Picture Editors Guild last October.
Sources tell Variety that additional bargaining sessions have taken place but sticking points remain, notably around the issue of health benefits.
During the bargaining session, the source shared a proposal had been made that the post-production crew members continue to receive the same health coverage, but no agreement had yet been made.
To help raise awareness, “Saturday Night Live” crew members close to the post-production editors will be leafletting on Friday night outside of 30 Rock, where the show is taped and where fans line up overnight to get standby tickets.
“This talented editorial crew works at breakneck speed under extraordinarily tight schedules in order to ensure ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ timely satire makes it to the screen each week,” Louis Bertini, MPEG’s Second Vice President, representing its New York membership, said in a statement in October. “We salute them for standing together to have a voice on the job. Behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, a slew of talented artists and craftspeople help to make ‘SNL’ the cultural touchstone that it is, and much of that talent already enjoys the benefit of union contracts. We’re glad that these editorial employees will now be joining ‘SNL’s’ unionized workforce.”
Representatives for NBCU did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: Variety
