“The Rachael Ray Show” long had a reputation as a model for how to treat a crew. Veterans of the syndicated daytime talker praise the workplace culture that endured over its first 14 seasons. Even as signs of belt tightening began to creep in a few years ago, those on set appreciated the show’s inclusiveness, the parties that would occasionally be thrown for crew members and the feeling that they were always being treated with respect.
Now, in the middle of a global pandemic, more than 20 crew are being cut loose without warning and without pay.
The relationship between the show and the folks who make it began to shift in March, when the latter were informed that Ray would, in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, shoot the remainder of the 2019-20 season remotely from her house in upstate New York without on-site assistance from anyone beside her husband — and that displaced crew members would not be paid for the five scheduled shoot days remaining in the season. That move prompted a dispute by IATSE, which claimed that its contract with the show covering 18 union camera operators, audio engineers and other technical crew requires producers to pay those furloughed workers for all remote shoot days that had originally been planned for the studio.
Months later, the crew was informed that “The Rachael Ray Show” would return to its Manhattan studio in November. But now producers have changed course, announcing that Ray will continue to shoot remotely through the remainder of the season. Negotiations between producers and IATSE on a settlement have thus far led nowhere. That standoff is now headed for arbitration, leaving open the likelihood that the 18 furloughed IATSE members and a handful of additional non-union crew won’t be paid for roughly two-thirds of their scheduled workdays this season.
“When COVID-19 forced our studio production to shut down in March, we started shooting ‘Rachael Ray’ at Rachael’s home out of necessity,” a spokesperson for CBS Television Distribution, which produces the show with Harpo Studios and Discovery Productions, told Variety. “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.”
Spokespersons for Ray and IATSE did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
”Rachael Ray” isn’t the only talk show to be criticized during the pandemic for leaving crew members in the lurch.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety