Ridiculousness is trying to unionize

They’re calling it “hot labor summer”: Hollywood’s writers and actors may be the most visible unions on strike, but they’re far from the only ones organizing. Southern California hotel workers are also on strike; the Teamsters just negotiated a deal for UPS workers; United Auto Workers are making noise about a work stoppage. There is an atmosphere of momentum on the side of the worker, and some of the folks at Ridiculousness want in on the action.

Ridiculousness, already frequently the only show airing on MTV, is not covered by the Writers Guild of America, meaning it’s still in production. The clip show, hosted and executive produced by Rob Dyrdek, employs a number of “creative consultants” who “are responsible for generating concepts for segments, writing conversation starters and monologues,” according to a spokesperson for the WGA (via The Hollywood Reporter). The show’s “consultants” reportedly asked for voluntary recognition from management after signing union cards, but the request was denied.

Now, those consultants have filed a petition for a National Labor Relations Board election in order to organize with the WGA West, according to THR. The guild considers Ridiculousness on par with shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos or Tosh.0, which are both covered by the WGA. The consultant position is the equivalent of workers who are considered comedy-variety writers on those shows, per the guild, and the Ridiculousness employees now organizing are doing so to seek “parity with their peers in the industry and respect for their work,” the WGA said in a statement to the outlet.

The so-called consultants at Ridiculousness are not the only ones getting in the spirit of hot labor summer. Bethenny Frankel recently suggested that reality stars should unionize, too: “I myself have generated millions and millions of dollars in advertising and online impressions being on reality TV and have never made a single residual,” she said in a social media post. “So, either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.” Here’s to everybody that’s getting screwed getting theirs back!