Saturday Night Strike! SNL walkout might stop production in its tracks

Saturday Night Live might be headed for a strike on April Fool’s Day and, no, this is not a joke.

The post-production editors of the long-running NBC parody show are planning an April 1 walkout after negotiations for higher pay and better health benefits continue to drag on.

Back in October, the crew members unionized with the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG), which initially resulted in the guild approaching NBC Universal with a slate of labor proposals in December. NBC Universal made a counter-offer a month later, which the guild labeled as “unacceptable.” Since then, negotiations have stalled.

The post-production crew shoulders enormous work responsibilities, including editing the numerous pre-taped segments of the “live” show.

The guild explained that NBC Universal is continuing to reject union proposals, by offering annual increases that lag behind industry standards.

Assistant editors on SNL take home lower hourly wages compared to their industry counterparts, which a main focal point for MPEG. Another issue the guild is spotlighting is that NBCU’s practice of hiring freelance subcontractors hinders the full-time workers’ collective bargaining rights. For obvious reasons, MPEG believes that this labor practice could be abused to negatively effect employees’ fair compensation.

Alan Heim, President of the Motion Pictures Editors Guild, spoke to Variety, saying, “Strikes are not funny, and it’s also not funny that NBCU is driving us to take this step to guarantee fair pay and benefits for our members.”

It’s worth noting that MPEG represents approximately 9,000 post-production workers nationwide.

There is a hint of optimism, however; NBCU sources said that the company is determined to reach an agreement before April 1. Also, SNL cast members Colin Jost and James Austin Johnson (known for his pinpoint accurate impression of Donald Trump) wore “contract now” t-shirts at the end of the Feb 3 episode as a sign of solidarity with the crew. Hein believes this helps tremendously.

He reacted by saying, “These workers play a key role in making SNL the comedy institution that it is and they deserve the same standards as others workers have. That’s why we are thankful for all the outpouring of support they have received from other crafts and cast members on the show. This support is helping to ensure that management will eventually do the right thing.”

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