EXCLUSIVE: Some members of the Survivor crew want a vote – and we’re not talking about staying on any island. Representing about two dozen editors, the Motion Picture Editors Guild today told Mark Burnett and his Island Post Productions that they want a union contract. “The union requests negotiations with you with respect to pay, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment,” says the 1-page letter from National Executive Director Ron Kutak of IATSE Local 700 to Post Producer John Heard. At present, the demand is for immediate negotiations and the editors and assistants are still on the job. However, with just over a month before the recently announced expanded September 24 debut of Season 29 of the reality show the move by the Santa Monica-based post crew could shuttle the beginning of Survivor: San Juan del Sur if this escalates to a walk-out or further labor action, I’ve learned. “The premiere episode isn’t even done yet,” a source close to the editing action told me. “With the plan of a 90-minute opener and the team still going through footage, any delay of more than a few days would be very hard on the schedule.” Like fellow Burnett production shows Shark Tank and NBC’s The Voice, which do have IATSE contracts, the Survivor employees want an agreement that includes industry-standard health insurance and pension benefits.
While there are no explicit indications of labor action in today’s short correspondence from Kutak, the plan I’ve learned is to give Burnett’s company a brief opportunity to respond before taking things further. That opportunity is based on the long long relationship the editors have had with Survivor with some of them having worked on the CBS series since its debut 14 years ago. In fact a number of the editors in question are actually nominated in this year’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which is scheduled for the 16 of August at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Frederick Hawthrone, Joubin Mortazavi, Evan Mediuch, Dave Armstrong, Andrew Bolhuis and Tim Atzinger are all up for Outstanding Picture Editing For Reality Programming.
The Emmys may not play a role in today’s move by the Editor’s Guild but the timing of the latest Survivor season premiere certainly does if you look at past postproduction labor actions. As a part of their on-going efforts to unionize unscripted TV, the 7,300 strong Editor’s Guild shut down NBC’s reboot of Last Comic Standing this April. That action also came about a month before the show was set to debut. After a 1-day walkout and picketing, LCS’s producers agreed to a contract for their approximately 15-member postproduction staff. Last November, the IATSE Local secured a contract for post-staff on Discovery Channel‘s Naked & Afraid after a 1-week work stoppage against producers Renegade 83 just 3-weeks before N&A’s December 6 premiere.
Go editors! You deserve the benefits of a Union contract and Burnett/CBS can afford to pay it after 29 seasons.
No show did more to undermine the bargaining power of the union than this one did. In supporting this move, IATSE is hoping you all have forgotten how devastating the reality shows were to the SAG/AFTRA debacle of 2000 where many of us were laid off, myself included. After 11 years in, I am making 2/3 what I did 2 years ago, for twice the work.
My first thought was that this show should be banned from the union on general principles. Then I realized that since IATSE only cares that the dues are current and actually have no principles, they will allow our newly minted useful idiot brothers and sisters to be undermined and abused just like the rest of us. Nothing could be sweeter. WELCOME ABOARD!
WUT???????? You make no sense. This is about editors most already in the union and some prospective members wanting more than a day rate, wanting benefits and protection. Go be negative somewhere else…
The show you’re harping on had it’s very first season in 2000. 14 years ago. By your math you didn’t even start editing until 2003. and then somehow after 2012 you took a 30% pay cut and you blame that on Survivor.
You are batsh*t insane. I would have given you a 100% pay cut instead keeping you on as a welfare case. Be nice to your employer.
Oh, gee, the 85th edition of this same crap “program” will be delayed? Gee, what about the unanswered questions from last season? The cliffhangers? The drama/comedy/mystery? Oh yeah, none of that, since its a friggin REALTY show! Put it to rest, once and for ALL!
you obviously don’t watch Survivor. it doesn’t do that stupid “after the break” & “coming up” stupid crap. nice try though cranky Sally.
I’m also a realty/talk show editor still in the early years of my career, and it is very upsetting that such a successful show backed by CBS/Burnett would not be offering editors a union contract from the beginning, let alone 29 seasons later. If not big names like Survivor, then who?! Freelance editing is a grim scene when it comes to topics like benefits and protection.