The Writers Guild of America East technically has a union at the production company behind the popular true crime show The First 48, but it’s more a union in name than in practice. That’s because more than 12 years into its existence, members still don’t have a first contract outlining the basics, like grievance procedures, wages and working conditions.
After years of false starts at ITV’s Kirkstall Road Enterprises, negotiations began anew in May 2024. But according to a new unfair labor practice charge filed by the writers’ union to the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, ITV isn’t being a good bargaining partner.
“The basis of the charge is: failure to bargain in good faith concerning mandatory subjects of bargaining, engaging in bad faith, surface, or piecemeal bargaining, and failing to meet with the union at reasonable times and reasonable intervals,” the union claims.
In plain English, the union says company negotiators have been tardy to bargaining sessions, sometimes by as many as 60 minutes, and aren’t always showing up with counterproposals. “Throughout the bargaining process, management has consistently shown up late and unprepared to bargaining sessions and refuses to hold meaningful dialogue over the key issues affecting members’ lives,” said WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen in a statement. “We notified ITV during our bargaining session on May 22 that we would file a ULP if we did not see a change in both the company’s preparedness and a willingness to engage in good-faith bargaining. In failing to do either, ITV has forced our hand.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to ITV for comment.
The WGA East’s charge marks an escalation of its long-running battle with ITV, where it has a second union at a different subsidiary that likewise doesn’t have a first contract. The WGA East secured a union at Leftfield Pictures, the label behind the reality shows Pawn Stars and Alone, in 2015.
In February, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Leftfield Pictures, which was withdrawn when negotiations over a first contract began the next month, according to the union.
At Kirkstall Road Enterprises, the size of the union’s bargaining unit fluctuates depending on which shows are running at one time: It can vary from 20 to 35 people working across titles including The First 48 spinoffs After the First 48 and Critical Minutes.
Remaining issues at the bargaining table include whether creatives might receive annual salary increases and a guaranteed 401(K) match. The two sides are also stuck on a remote work policy and health insurance issues, a representative for the WGA East said.
”How we’re interpreting it is that these negotiations are a low priority for them, and obviously they’re a high priority not just for the Writers Guild but also for the folks work on these shows,” a rep for the WGA East told THR.
The union has attempted to apply pressure to speed things along before, most recently issuing a petition signed by roughly 500 members including Nosferatu filmmaker Robert Eggers and American Psycho writer-director Mary Harron that called for ITV to negotiate more quickly. With its latest salvo, said the WGA representative, “We’re doing this because we feel like we have to. We’ve run out of options in terms of trying to get the company to take us seriously.”
