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Writers Guild East members at Sesame Workshop secured a new contract, overwhelmingly approving a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The deal was struck just in time to avoid a work stoppage, and the workers won historic jurisdiction and minimum rates for animation and new media programs produced by Sesame, protections against artificial intelligence, paid parental leave benefits and substantial improvements to new media residuals.
“Congratulations to our Sesame Workshop writers, who won groundbreaking protections that will allow them to continue creating children’s media,” WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “Make no mistake—these historic gains mark an important step in organizing animation. Writing for children’s media and animation isn’t easier than other forms of screenwriting, and those workers deserve the same protections.”