WGAE & Optomen Production Agree To New Three-Year Contract

NEW YORK, NY (JUNE 29, 2015) – The Writers Guild of America, East is pleased to announce it has negotiated a new three-year contract with Optomen Productions, which makes nonfiction programs for cable television networks.

Three years ago Optomen became the first nonfiction production company to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the WGAE, and it is now the first to negotiate a renewal agreement.

The new agreement includes a significantly shorter waiting period to become eligible for health insurance, improvements to the health benefits themselves, more accrued paid time off, a new overtime provision, and pay increases for writer-producers earning the contractual minimum rate.

“When we started organizing in nonfiction TV several years ago we knew it would take time to construct a solid foundation on which writer-producers could build solid careers,” said Writers Guild of America, East Executive Director Lowell Peterson.  “As it did three years ago, Optomen negotiated in good faith, demonstrating its commitment to a high road strategy of respecting the work and contribution of the men and women who create the company’s shows.”

ABOUT WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, EAST
The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media and broadcast news. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit wgaeast.org.