Children’s Television Workshop Releases Child Workforce
Child labor freed as part of Mr. Rogers’ last request
OSCAR T. GROUCH
The original production staff of the Children’s Television Workshop circa 1969, in a rare unchained photograph.
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Following the speedy delivery of Mr. Rogers to the afterlife Thursday, the Children’s Television Workshop announced it would be releasing all children in its laborforce from contracts within the month. This was in accordance with the wishes of the late Fred Rogers, a children’s advocate and fellow children’s television producer.
Rogers, who died Thursday shortly after switching back into his business shoes and suit jacket, was a lifelong defender of the rights of children and had negotiated with the Children’s Television Workshop for years for its underage hiring practices. Months earlier, Rogers reportedly asked representatives of the CTW as an act of good will to allow the working youth out of their contracts in the event of his death. Thursday, after hearing of their neighbor’s passing, CTW representatives announced they would do as Rogers wished.
“Fred Rogers was a dear friend and the kindest man I’ve ever known,” said Children’s Television Workshop Vice-President Doug Birch, 23. “I came up in this business, clawed my way up to the top from the mailroom. In all the people I’ve met in my 20 years at CTW, Fred Rogers never resorted to the ‘business-first’ mentality so many have. He will be missed.”
Birch went on to say the board of directors of CTW declared an emergency meeting after hearing of Rogers’ demise, and after a heated argument which included name-calling and crayon-throwing, the board agreed as a gesture to Rogers’ memory all contracts with underage CTW workers would be voided, to be re-negotiated if desired. This would release the 3,042 members of the CTW labor force, 92% of which are under 18, from the employ of the company.
Shows such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company will halt production while considering new ways to produce inexpensive public television with the help of rare viewers who actually donate money.
Though child labor laws exist in the United States to prevent the exploitation of children in the production of educational television, offices and studios of the Children’s Television Workshop operate predominately in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Canada. Rarely are laws against child labor enforced in such regions.
For some CTW employees, the move means the first taste of freedom since being purchased by the corporation from orphanages and refugee camps; for others, it means powerful leverage for re-negotiating better contracts and living conditions. Either way, most everyone is grateful to the generous request of the late children’s television icon.
Sesame Street Co-Producer Steven “Stevie” Robinson: “I remember when I first came in here. Five-year-old kid, timid and scared and seeing all these cameras and wooden sets and expensive equipment, all this stuff you don’t think about when you see those kids TV shows on the air. And this guy in a green sweater comes up and says, ‘Hi, I’m Fred Rogers. What’s your name?’ Even then I knew he was a class act. I may be a little older, a little more cynical and suspicious of how the business works, but even now, two years later, I remember the friendliness in that gesture. Children’s television should be about the kids. Like me.”
While most are pleased by the announcement of the Children’s Television Workshop, it still comes at a sad time for all involved in educational television production as the world remembers Fred Rogers.
“Me sad,” said Sesame Street ensemble player Cookie Monster. “Me no realize how much Mr. Rogers touch Cookie Monster life until he gone. Me gladly give all cookies in world to have him back.”
the commune news is proud to say we are no longer using child labor in our production either—all our girls are over 18 and we can provide proof upon request. Ivana Folger-Balzac is a commune correspondent and a hateful, vengeful bitch… according to some people, none of which we agree with. We think quite the opposite of the lovely, small type-reading Ivana.
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