Unionized writers at Sesame Workshop have unanimously voted to authorize a potential strike as their negotiations over a new labor contract continue.
Thirty-five workers at the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame Street have greenlit a potential work stoppage to begin on April 24 if a new contract deal isn’t reached by its current expiration date, April 19. The workers, who are members of the Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West, work on writing Sesame Street, Helpsters and The Not Too Late Show With Elmo.
“The writers that Sesame Workshop hires are deeply committed to the work that we do. Like the Workshop itself, we are mission-driven and child-focused, and we work hard at telling stories that contribute to the Workshop’s curricula inspired by heart, curiosity, community, kindness, diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the union’s negotiating committee said in a statement about the decision. “We are committed to working with Sesame Workshop to codify a fair contract for writers that embodies these values, and which allows the Workshop to continue to attract top-level talent who can artfully create stories that successfully balance entertainment, playfulness, and joy with education and enrichment.”
A Sesame Workshop spokesperson responded, “Our writers are integral members of our creative team, and we are engaged in good faith negotiations with the WGA. We’re still hopeful that we’ll come to an agreement in advance of the expiration.”
In the negotiations for a new contract, which began on Feb. 13, the union is seeking to institute “industry standard” annual raises and fixed residuals for re-use on streaming platforms, as well as a performance-based bonus when their work does well on streaming platforms. They are also looking to expand their contract to cover writing for animation and social media work, which would add members to the existing bargaining unit. They are further working on regulating the use of AI within the contract and establishing a paid parental leave fund.
“No one wants to see a picket line on Sesame Street,” WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “Millions of parents and families around the world are going to have a lot of questions. They might ask why the bosses at Sesame Workshop are ignoring their company’s own messages of kindness and fairness.”
The negotiations are being led on the union side by WGA East director of contract enforcement & credits Geoff Betts, while Sesame Workshop svp of production management, operations, business affairs and legal Taska Carrigan is representing management.
