WGAE Members Secure First Union Contract with Garden Slate Productions with Unanimous Vote
Chris Garlock | Published on 7/12/2025
Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at award-winning entertainment development and
production company Garden Slate Productions reached a deal on their first collective bargaining agreement.
The three-year contract covers many titles under production, along with rarely unionized positions such as set PAs and food stylists. Garden Slate produces shows like The Food Network’s “The Kitchen.”
It includes groundbreaking rehire protection language that addresses the issue of frequent short-term employment contracts, establishes fair minimum rates and provides immediate raises for all production assistants. The agreement also guarantees a 2% increase to the minimum rates in the second and third years, and a minimum 1.5% across-the-board raises during those same years. Additionally, the Entertainment Industry Benefit Flex Plan allows nonfiction workers to carry their health fund balance from gig to gig, even when unemployed or employed by a different employer. Workers will also receive 12 paid holidays, up to five paid sick days annually and three paid bereavement days after four weeks of employment.
The bargaining committee said: “We’re so proud of our first contract, which among other wins for producers, art department and culinary workers, organized production assistants into the union and boosted their pay. The contract also establishes rehire protections for all members, which are sorely needed in a freelance industry. Our achievement is one part of a larger, industry-wide effort to win respect and sustainable conditions for the highly skilled and profitable work we all do.”