The concept of reality jurisdiction was a controversial one during the recent writers strike. The idea was divisive, even amongst WGA members who debated how much, if any, reality television should be covered by the union. When the WGA announced it was abandoning its fight for reality rights during the negotiations, it did so with the caveat that the Guild would aggressively pursue authority on reality projects once the strike was over.

In a letter to its members on Tuesday night, WGA West president Patric M. Verrone laid out the details of several significant developments that have taken place in the recent days, and to announce that the Guild has decided to focus all of its reality organizing energy on FremantleMedia – arguably the largest producer of reality television in the world. The WGA has scheduled a slate of rallies during the coming month coinciding with American Idol open auditions, beginning tomorrow in San Francisco, and culminating August 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Read the full letter after the jump.

To My Fellow Members,

I am writing to report on some recent developments in organizing. We recently signed a WGA contract with Mark Burnett Productions for the network primetime game show Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? WGA contracts have also been signed for the Comedy Central shows Root of All Evil and Chocolate News. New animated series like ABC’s The Goode Family, Fox’s The Cleveland Show, and HBO’s The Life and Times of Tim are all being done under WGA contracts. And, for the first time, we have opened dialogues with some of the major non-union reality and game show production companies. These companies understand the value of using WGA writers to create successful shows, and they are finding that they face growing resistance from all writers to working without WGA coverage and industry standard benefits.
The resistance to WGA coverage from many of the biggest producers of reality TV and game shows continues. For years, the broadcast and cable TV producers have made these programs non-Guild, claiming that “There’s no writing on these shows” or that the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement does not cover them. In fact, every one of these shows falls under long-existing categories in the MBA, such as Quiz and Audience Participation, Comedy-Variety, Non-Dramatic and Documentary.

Reality television has come to mean non-union television, and the writers and other employees on these programs are nearly always denied industry standard benefits such as minimums, credits, residuals, and portable pension and health insurance plans. The growth of this low cost genre has also meant a decrease in the TV shelf space devoted to programming, which undermines our health and pension funds and diminishes writers’ bargaining leverage, collective and individual. It should be abundantly clear to all of us how much shows like American Idol helped Fox more easily weather our recent strike.

In order to tackle this problem and use our organizing resources most effectively, we have chosen to focus our attention on FremantleMedia North America. Fremantle is a multinational company and a major producer of some of the highest-rated television programs in the world, including American Idol (and its many incarnations around the globe). Other current productions include America’s Got Talent for NBC, The Price is Right and Million Dollar Password for CBS, Farmer Wants a Wife for the CW, and the syndicated Family Feud. In 2007, Fremantle produced more than 1,000 hours of television in the United States. Currently, Fremantle produces all of its reality and game shows without the protections of a WGA contract for the writers who help make these programs successful.

We have made a variety of approaches to Fremantle executives in the past year but thus far they continue to resist negotiating a WGA contract for their existing shows. In our discussions with writers and other employees who have worked for Fremantle, we have been made aware of the unacceptable working conditions many of them have experienced. Some have already brought claims before the California Labor Commissioner for violations of overtime and other wage and hour laws.

Other writers have been part of our Network Organizing Committee, which is planning an "American Idol Truth Tour" to expose these working conditions to a national audience. The Truth Tour will feature events in several cities held in conjunction with the upcoming auditions for the next season of American Idol. These events will raise awareness about the working conditions faced by writers and other employees of Fremantle. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399, which was a strong ally during our strike, has agreed to join the tour because the drivers on the show also lack representation, receive substandard wages and benefits, and work in unsafe conditions.

On Wednesday, July 16, WGA West will hold a press conference to kick off the tour. Afterwards writers, Teamsters, former Fremantle employees and our supporters will board a bus to San Francisco for the opening American Idol auditions at the Cow Palace in Daly City. The Truth Tour will hold a rally and press event outside the auditions on Thursday, July 17 from 11AM to 1PM. Future events will be held at other audition cities, with a Truth Tour Finale Event on August 19 hosted by the Writers Guild, East outside the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

A website devoted to Fremantle and the American Idol Truth Tour can be found at www.TruthAboutFremantle.com. And you can send a message to the CEO of FremantleMedia North America Cecile Frot Coutaz by clicking here.

In the weeks and months to come, we intend to bring you further updates on our initiatives. It's our union. Let's make the most of it.
Sincerely,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGA West

photo from last Novembers reality rally by Heath Biter for LAist