EXCLUSIVE: Editors at NBC’s iconic Saturday Night Live have successfully organized with the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG), Local 700 of IATSE. The post-production workers are part of SNL’s film unit, which creates the show’s prerecorded segments, including its popular music video parodies.
The post-production crew won union recognition pursuant to a card-check agreement with NBCUniversal. An arbitrator independently verified that a majority of employees had elected union representation. The size of the show’s film unit fluctuates from week to week, but the group now represented by MPEG will range from between roughly a dozen to 20 part-time employees.
“This talented editorial crew works at breakneck speed under extraordinarily tight schedules in order to ensure Saturday Night Live‘s timely satire makes it to the screen each week,” said Louis Bertini, MPEG’s Second Vice President, representing its New York membership. “We salute them for standing together to have a voice on the job. Behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, a slew of talented artists and craftspeople help to make SNL the cultural touchstone that it is, and much of that talent already enjoys the benefit of union contracts. We’re glad that these editorial employees will now be joining SNL‘s unionized workforce.”
MPEG President Alan Heim added, “Having a voice on the job isn’t a laughing matter. SNL deserves its status as a legendary comedy series, and the talented people who help make it deserve all the good things a union will bring. We are thrilled to welcome them to the Editors Guild family.”
The Editors Guild represents more than 9,000 post-production professionals nationally, working in both live-action and animated motion pictures. It is a local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE).
