Union effort in food television gains traction

Although scripted television programs have long been highly unionized, the same is not true for reality and other nonfiction shows including most of the food programs on Food Network and other channels. That is beginning to change, as Eater reports. The workers behind two Food Network shows – Trisha’s Southern Kitchen and The Kitchen – have voted to form a union, the first of its kind.

According to workers at the programs’ production company BSTV, during the start of the pandemic many people involved in the production of these shows were converted from being full-time employees to freelancers. This meant that their parent company was no longer responsible for providing them with health insurance and other benefits.

“It was very difficult, and since then, our conditions have gotten worse,” according to BSTV coordinating producer Elias Holtz. “We’ve lost our health care, we’ve lost our job security, and our issues are really industry-wide across nonfiction television and food television.” Eater reached out to BSTV for comment, but the company did not respond to the request. The union plans to “fight for fair pay, and pay transparency so that they can ensure all their members are being paid fairly.”