UPDATED: Saturday Night Live editorial crew plans strike for April 1, first in show’s history
Those involved in SNL's post-production editing announce the strike as contract negotiations stall
Aux News Saturday Night Live
Through the Motion Picture Editors Guild, members of Saturday Night Live’s editorial crew have announced their plan to strike on April 1 as contract negotiations stall.
Negotiations with NBCU via the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) started back in October, with union members focusing on health care benefits and pay inequity. Without a viable decision reached months later, 12 to 20 SNL editing team members threaten to halt work completely. The striking members would specifically comprise those involved in editing the pre-taped bits, such as Please Don’t Destroy’s sketches and the commercial spoofs.
The talking points for the contract are familiar, with employees looking for pay that closer resembles industry standards, as well as pay increases that match cost of living hikes. According to a press release from the Editor’s Guild, the SNL editorial crew members are paid far below industry standards, and much less than their SNL counterparts. NBCU’s offered remedies have failed to address these gaps in pay.
Additionally, NBCU has sought to implement a “two-tiered” health insurance system that could mean fewer benefits for future employees. One big stinker of proposal comes in the form of a “management’s rights” clause that would allow the company to “unilaterally change workplace rules and policies” and subcontract work, weakening the union’s collective bargaining power.
“Strikes are not funny, and it’s also not funny that NBCU is driving us to take this step to guarantee fair pay and benefits for our members,” says Alan Heim, president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, in an official statement.
“The fact is that these workers play a key role in making SNL the comedy institution that it is and they deserve the same standards as other workers on the show have,” Heim continues. “That is why we are thankful for all the outpouring of support they have received from other crafts and cast members on the show. This support is helping to ensure that management will eventually do the right thing.”
While SNL has been impacted by broader Hollywood striking efforts, this would be the first time in the show’s 50-year history that it would specifically be targeted in a strike. Per Variety, NBC states it is looking to reach an agreement by the end of the month.
Update (3/9/23 5:22 P.M.): The A.V. Club spoke to one of the editors from SNL about the strike on the condition of anonymity. They emphasized the cast and crew’s support of their unionization efforts and the editors’ hope that the situation can be resolved.
“We are extremely proud to create some of the most beloved and popular parts of the show, and like everyone else that works for SNL, we deserve a fair union contract,” our source said. “We have received an outpouring of support from those who work on the show. It is a drop in the bucket for NBC. In good faith, we can’t get them to agree to our terms.”
52 Comments
Solidarity forever! Go get yours, editors union!
“Strikes are not funny,” Neither is SNL.
“Strikes are not funny ” sounds like an absolute kind of nugget Lorne would say if someone mentioned them near him.
Thank you for sharing this fresh and unique take.
Woah! Let’s not go saying anything we can’t take back.
No worries there!
I still don’t get the prestige this show has. I really, truly don’t.Y’ever been dragged to a friend of a friend’s amateur standup gig? That’s what it feels like.
I have.
/presˈtiːʒ/ us. respect or admiration that is given to someone or something, usually because of the reputation that they have for high quality, success, or social influence
I know what the word means.Hence why I used it.
I though you were just confused. In that case, I’ll explain.SNL was the coolest thing on TV when it debuted, and since then it has been an incubator for comedy talent that no other show can even come close to. The sheer number of gigantic comedy stars it has produced is unprecedented and I don’t see how any other show could possibly do the same at this point.It has its ups and downs, but there have been at least three eras that most people agree were very good (original cast, 86-93, 05-12). There have also been shining stars during the crap eras (Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey).Alumni have gone on to produce era-defining films and TV shows (Blues Brothers, Animal House, Spinal Tap, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Beverley Hills Cop, When Harry Met Sally, Christmas Vacation, Wayne’s World, Groundhog Day, Happy Gilmore, Anchorman, Mean Girls, Bridesmaids)So as you can see, it satisfies all the requirements (if not all at the same time): high quality, success, and social influence.Perhaps you could argue that it doesn’t live up to the prestige it has (and in its current form I might agree with you), but surely it must be obvious where it comes from.So you can see why I thought you might not understand what prestige means.
Ugh. It’s worse than that. I’m going to break my own rule and state that this is just more old Boomer Shit that refuses to go away.
I guess that’s a reason: maybe it was good, but now because of that prestige it’s now something you just Go On because – well, it’s SNL and that’s big and famous and now it’s just branding, not substance. At best – and I am being very generous here – I suppose it’s cringe comedy (because it’s fucking awkward to watch), or that insufferable anti-humour: “SEE, IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE IT’S DELIBERATELY SHIT SO THAT’S FUNNY BECAUSE IT IT’S FUNNY THAT YOU’D DO SOMETHING SHIT AS PART OF A SHOW WHICH NORMALLY YOU’D WANT TO BE GOOD. IT’S CALLED IRONY, LOOK IT UP.”
None of which appeals. If it’s just meant to be normal, regular funny? Dumpster fire. And the dumpster’s filled with rubber car mats and human hair.
Great! Nobody’s dragging you A-N-Y-W-H-E-R-E so you can feel free to never watch it again and also to never make anyone have to read your stupid opinion about a show you’ve never liked again.
The G/O editors have been on strike since 2018
I think they got fired and never realized it, like Milton.
The show does seem to rely more and more on packaged material and less on live sketches.
I’m always on the side of collective action, but April 1 seems like a really bad day to pick for something serious like this.
It is a “comedy” show.
You could have fooled me!
My wedding anniversary is April 1st
Mine was Friday the 13th. I’m not sure how often it falls on a Friday again. Thankfully I’m not superstitious so I don’t care.
We aren’t either, its was just the day that worked best in our schedule with the venue. We embraced it and made our wedding favors t-shirts compressed into heart shapes that said “Fools in Love”
Was your spouse trying to give you a hint?
The US is a bastion of workers’ rights, a place where collective action gets results. APRIL FOOLS LOL
SNL is the enemy of comedy. Banal and enabling, the bad far outweighs the good and Lorne Michaels should be tried for all of the horror he has inflicted these past few decades.
They don’t force you to watch or comment. Admit it, you’re obsessed
Agree. It’s like this awful show got ‘grandfathered’ in on some kind of continuing series technicality. Make it stop.
What else are they going to run at 11:30 on a Saturday that will actually draw viewers? This is the easiest money NBC earns.
When I was a kid this is when sleepovers got interesting: the old classic movies and ‘forbidden’ stuff like awful Japanese horror flicks and (ugh) wrestling. Now everything is ‘forbidden’.They should just run commercials like everyone else, I suppose.
Reruns of the garbage streaming services pay nine figures for?
It’s like college basketball. Tune in to see who’s going to be a big deal in the big leagues.
Instead of whining about something you don’t need to watch, maybe just kill yourself?
Lorne: (weakly, afraid) Shoooooooow?
Fun fact: Loren Michaels fancies himself as a pretty proficient film (e.g. analog) editor and even mingled with becoming a broadcast editor for a brief moment (pre-SNL).
How about no one show up. Ever. Including the audience.
An hour and a half of What Up With That? incoming!
We’ll finally be able to get to Lindsey Buckingham
I’m….OK with that.
If they can’t get this sorted out by early April they should run some of those old truncated episodes that were put out on VHS to acquaint younger viewers with the classics, as sort of a public service.
I hope NBC can get some Pinkerton men to come teach these unruly laborers a lesson!
I just watch Kill Tony instead now. Consistently funny every week, completely free on YouTube, and none of the comedians worry about offending people. Far superior entertainment.
I hope they get a good and fair deal.
Failing that, they should fill the SNL timeslot with something like that fake AI-generated Seinfeld Forever show.
Didn’t that thing finally start making racist statements and get pulled?
They pulled it temporarily because it started making transphobic jokes, but it’s been modified and is back up now.
You think they’re pulling SNL because the editor of the 30-second fake commercial is on strike?
Just pay them, fuck. What is wrong with people.
Then the people at the top would see slightly smaller numbers at the end of the day, meaning they would be aware of losing a fraction of their wealth that they weren’t going to spend in the first place. And we can’t have that.(I was just reading yesterday about how, in the Bronze Age, social elites would hoard things like metal axe heads for no discernible reason other than “to have them” rather than have them distributed and used by laborers. This is not a new phenomenon among humanity, and it doesn’t seem like we’ve gotten any better at recognizing and correcting that behavior in the last 5,000 years.)
It’s just crazy to me how rich people think they shouldn’t have to pay for what they want (labor) and meanwhile look down on poor people for using welfare and Medicaid to pay for things like not dying. You know you need editorial staff, so either pay them to work for you or get in the editing room and do it your damn self.
the SNL editorial crew members are paid far below industry standards, and much less than their SNL counterpartsHuh?
“The striking members would specifically comprise those involved in editing the pre-taped bits, such as Please Don’t Destroy’s sketches and the commercial spoofs.” So if this strike isn’t settled, SNL will have to do only live bits?
Work in post here in NYC, and can tell you from what I’ve heard from plenty of colleagues in this town: SNL is a horrible job. Great on your resume, but garbage work and lifestyle. That goes for everyone on staff, including the highest paid producers / stars of the show. The culture there is terrible, so I’m fully supportive of these folks striking and finally giving a punch back to the higher ups.