Writer-Producers at Comcast/NBCUniversal's nonfiction television production company Peacock Productions has ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).
The agreement includes a landmark provision that addresses one of the most fundamental industrywide concerns: Portable health benefits. Peacock has agreed to contribute fully to the Entertainment Industry Flex Plan, which enables Peacock's Associate Producers (APs) and Producers to obtain affordable, high-quality group health coverage plus participate in the Flex Plan's 401(k) benefit.
The WGAE recently won Flex Plan contributions for freelancers at Vice Media, including nonfiction channel VICELAND. In addition, Optomen Productions has agreed to a "trigger" provision which would put that shop into the Flex Plan once a total of five employers sign on to the program.
Lowell Peterson, Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America, East, explaining why the Flex Plan benefits are a vital gain, said, "Nonfiction television Writer-Producers move from company to company as their shows wrap. Some producers make health benefits, but those benefits don't mean much to freelance employees as it takes too long to qualify, the benefits aren't worth the out-of-pocket cost, and employer-paid coverage terminates when the employee moves on. By contrast, if an employer pays contributions to the Entertainment Industry Flex Plan on behalf of a WGAE member, those contributions remain at the Flex Plan even if the employee changes jobs. The money can still be used to buy Flex Plan insurance or cover eligible benefits. As the WGAE negotiates more and more contracts that provide for employer contributions to the Flex Plan, health benefits in nonfiction television will become truly portable."
The Peacock contract also includes:
David Van Taylor, a former Writer-Producer at Peacock Productions and a member of the WGAE Nonfiction Industrywide Organizing Committee, said, "In the end, we achieved a far better contract than anyone imagined when we started. The long battle ultimately strengthened our resolve, our solidarity, and our power. This contract, especially with its portable health insurance, will serve as a model for making sustainable careers possible in nonfiction television."
In addition to Peacock Productions, the WGAE has collective bargaining agreements with Vice Media, Optomen Productions, Lion Television, Sharp Entertainment and represents writer-producers at ITV's Kirkstall Road Enterprises and Leftfield Pictures.
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