WGAE Members Stand with CPJ Staffers

Two people shake hands
(Image credit: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images)

Amy Schumer and other high-profile members of the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) have signed a petition in support of staffers of the Committee to Protect Journalists who are trying to get WGAE representation.

Schumer, Adam McKay (Vice), Jonathan Franzen (Purity), and over 600 other WGAE members are urging CPJ management to agree to a union contract for approximately 50 CPJ staffers.

The petition, which also includes staffers from Frontline, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, WABC, WBBM, Huffington Post, and Vox, comes in advance of a Nov. 5 bargaining session. CPJ has recognized the union, but it has been over a year since the first bargaining session with no contract.

Among other things WGAE and CPJ staffers want are health and retirement benefits codified, increased pay minimums, and raises. "After a year of negotiations, it's time for a contract at the Committee to Protect Journalists," the petition said.

COVID-19 has obviously been a contributing factor to the extended bargaining.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.