Lowell Peterson Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Chalkbeat and the WGA East have reached their first collective bargaining agreement, which has been unanimously ratified by the digital news organization’s 30-member bargaining unit that includes writers, editors and video producers.

A majority of the 125 writers, producers, hosts, editors and researchers at the iHeartPodcast Network have signed union cards to organize with the WGA East, which is calling on the company to recognize the guild voluntarily as the bargaining representative of its staff.

In an upbeat annual report to members released Friday, WGA East executive director Lowell Peterson said that despite the hardships imposed by the pandemic, “overall our members’ earnings remained remarkably strong.” Freelance film, TV and streaming writers, he wrote, “have mostly remained employed throughout the pandemic,” though “some members certainly lost work opportunities – series that did not go forward, pitches left unmade, potential feature projects stuck in limbo.”

David Robb Labor EditorThe WGA East has launched a Safe Workplace Helpline for members who experience harassment or discrimination.

David Robb Labor EditorCreators and showrunners aren’t mentioned in the industry’s protocols for the safe reopening of TV production, but they’ll play key roles in on-set safety, according to leaders of the WGA East.“There have been some rumors going around that the protocols aim to exclude creators, showrunners and writer/producers from set.

By Dave McNary

By David Robb

By David Robb

By David Robb