Writers Urge MSNBC To Negotiate Fair Contract With WGA East For Newsroom Staff

In a show of solidarity, more than 400 film and TV writers – including Adam McKay, David Simon, Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuarón, Lilly Wachowski, John Waters and Alan Zweibel – have signed a petition calling on MSNBC to negotiate a fair first-time contract with the WGA East for the cable news network’s news writers and producers.

The petition comes after MSNBC laid off 30 of the guild’s 300 members employed there last month – a move that the guild said left it “extremely frustrated and disappointed.” See petition and its full list of signers here.

“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who write and create scripted programs for NBCU and other studios,” reads the petition, signed “In Solidarity.” “We support our fellow Guild-represented writers and producers at MSNBC who have been fighting for over a year to win a reasonable first contract. They are fully dedicated to the important work they do for NBCU and they deserve to be paid – and treated – fairly.

“When they work long hours or long weeks, when they work night hours or stand by ready to write and produce on a moment’s notice, when they perform the duties of people at higher pay grades, they deserve extra pay.

“Our colleagues are fighting for what we all need – meaningful protections set forth in a collective bargaining agreement. We call on management to recognize the contributions of the Guild-represented employees at MSNBC by agreeing to a fair contract that includes the pay and protections they deserve.”

Lowell Peterson, the WGA East’s executive director, said: “We are proud to represent the people who write comedies, dramas, and news for NBCU. We will keep fighting at the bargaining table for a contract that addresses the very real needs and aspirations of our folks at MSNBC. We are one union.”