Unionized ‘Ridiculousness’ writers seek to negotiate for fair pay and benefits
Writers on the popular MTV series showed up at their boss' office in an attempt to gain his support as they fight for a fair contract.
Although the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes ended late last year, some television show staffers are now fighting for contracts that provide fair compensation and benefits.
On Jan.19, a video was posted on X from the Writers Guild of America West explaining the challenges writers on the MTV series “Ridiculousness” are still grappling with. The union members are asking their boss, Rob Dyrdek, to support their fight for a contract to address disparities in pay, health care and other employee benefits.
“We love ‘Ridiculousness,’ and we want this show to continue on for years to come,” said Lauren Blackwell, who has written for the show for two years. “We just would like to be compensated fairly.”
The video, which has garnered over 500,000 views, shows the “Ridiculousness” writers as they traveled to the office of Dyrdek, the show’s host and executive producer, on Jan. 4 to ask for his support for their first union contract.
The group attempted to meet with Dyrdek, but “no one was there,” according to a representative from the WGA West. In the video, Ryan Conner, a series writer since 2013, is seen at Dyrdek’s workplace making phone calls to his office and leaving voicemails but not getting a response.
“Ridiculousness” first aired in 2011 and is currently on its 38th season. According to Conner, the writers completed 30 episodes each year when he started working with the show. The count has since increased to 336 episodes annually.
In addition to the staff’s attempt to speak with Dyrdek, 10 unionized creative consultants passed out flyers at the show’s production location in Van Nuys, California, in the effort to begin contract negotiations.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the flyers state: “We are currently compensated at a rate well below our peers writing for WGA-covered shows like ‘Ridiculousness.’ While our workloads have increased substantially, our compensation has been stagnant.” The flyers also contend that the show’s writers were excluded from holiday pay and end-of-year increases and that the show’s production company has not yet responded to requests to begin negotiating a mutual agreement.
“‘Ridiculousness’ has been a huge success,” writer Ally Maynard says in the X video. “We just want a piece of that success.”
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