WGA Members at Sesame Workshop Ratify New Contract
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES (May 10, 2024) – Members of Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West (WGA) at Sesame Workshop have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with their employer.
The 35-member bargaining unit at Sesame Workshop won a new contract after voting unanimously, with 100% participation, to authorize a strike if management had not agreed to a fair contract.
In a monumental win, the new agreement grants the WGA jurisdiction over all Sesame Workshop-produced programs made for Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) streaming platforms, content made for educational outreach, short form new media segments on YouTube, TikTok and Social Impact, and animated programs.
Along with extending WGA’s coverage to Sesame Workshop animation and new media for the first time, the contract also includes meaningful economic gains and union protections.
Sesame Workshop writers are now protected by the same Artificial Intelligence language won in the WGA’s 2023 film/TV screenwriters Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). All minimum rates will increase on the same date and percentage as the MBA (3.5% on May 2, 2024; 3% on May 2, 2025; May 2, 2026 – 2028 to follow 2026 MBA), and the company will pay pension, health and paid parental leave contributions in accordance with the MBA.
The agreement further includes improvements to new media residuals, increased minimum script fees and more.
“Congratulations to our Sesame Workshop writers, who won groundbreaking protections that will allow them to continue creating children’s media,” said WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. “Make no mistake — these historic gains mark an important step in organizing animation. Writing for children’s media and animation isn’t easier than other forms of screenwriting, and those workers deserve the same protections.”
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW)—collectively, WGA— are labor unions of writers working in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit www.wga.org.
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