Producers And Over 20 Crew Members Of “The Rachael Ray Show” Are In A Union Battle Over Pay And Healthcare
Variety reports some trouble for Rachael Ray, but this time it doesn’t involve a fire. But it is still a big problem for her. Just like how Ellen Degeneres reportedly had drama with her show staff over coronavirus lockdown pay, it seems that the people at The Rachael Ray Show are also having financial gripes related to their jobs. Furloughed workers learned that they would not be returning to their studio gigs this season as Rachael continues to film remotely, and now they’ve come for pay and health insurance. See this is something the Beyhive can be mad at her for.
Problems started back in March when Rachael’s show went remote like most TV talkshow celebs, and she didn’t need any crew members because her husband, John Cusimano, was going to help her out. There were five days left in the season and the crew were told they would not be paid for them. That got their union, IATSE, involved, who fought for furloughed workers to be paid for the remote shoot days regardless.
They were then told that come November, they would be back to normal in Manhattan as Rachael continued the home-shooting through September and October. But again, the show changed to remote – this time for the remainder of the season. Since the union and the show have been unable to come to an agreement, it’s headed to arbitration, and 18 IATSE members and a bunch of other non-union crew won’t get paid for 2/3 of their workdays this season until it’s settled.
In a statement, CBS Television Distribution denied not paying workers through September and October and said they reached out to IATSE to “discuss mitigation efforts.”
“When COVID-19 forced our studio production to shut down in March, we started shooting Rachael Ray at Rachael’s home out of necessity. As we moved into fall, with COVID cases increasing, we made the difficult decision to continue to shoot the show from Rachael’s home for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this new format has affected some valued studio crew, including IATSE members. CBS Television Distribution has continued to pay those affected through September and October, and we have reached out to IATSE to discuss mitigation efforts going forward.”
Rachael saw stories about the drama online and hit up Twitter with a statement, saying she didn’t think the information was “accurate” and promised all her workers were being “paid through October,” and would “keep the full contribution to their healthcare plan during this pandemic.” Apparently IATSE people need 400 work hours to qualify for health insurance? American healthcare is so wack, dudes.
— rachael ray (@rachaelray) October 29, 2020
Well, let’s be clear here. Are furloughed workers being paid money? Because they very well could be getting paid in cheesy chicken rice casseroles and pizza frittatas. So let’s have some specifics. All jokes aside, here’s hoping that Rachael’s producers and crew can come to an agreement soon. Because when Ellen’s crew had drama with pay, it snowballed into a mutiny.
Pic: Wenn.com