Production Assistants on "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago Med" Report Hour Cuts Following First Union Contract

Production assistants on NBC's "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago Med" say their daily work hours have been reduced by as much as 43% in weekly take-home pay after ratifying their first union contract in July 2026, according to the Chicago Tribune. The workers, who organized with the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), claim the cuts eliminate longstanding 12-hour and 14-hour daily guarantees that have governed their work for years.

The union alleges NBCUniversal removed guaranteed daily hours immediately after the contract took effect, dropping some workers from 12- or 14-hour days to eight-hour shifts. At an hourly wage of $19.93—roughly $2.88 above Chicago's $17.05 minimum wage—the reduction has created "serious financial hardship" for workers who historically relied on longer shifts to sustain themselves, according to union representative Alex Aguilar. NBCUniversal declined to comment when reached by the Tribune on August 7.

Union Claims Retaliation After Contract Ratification

LIUNA organized production assistants across both series earlier this year and ratified the first contract in July 2026. Workers returned from summer hiatus expecting to resume standard 12- or 14-hour workdays when production began on "Chicago Fire's" 15th season and "Chicago Med's" 12th season. Instead, union members say they received new deal memos that eliminated the daily hour guarantees.

"Workers should not lose the income they have historically relied upon simply because they chose to unionize," Aguilar said in the union's statement. "These guarantees have existed for years because they provide the livable income that production assistants depend on to support themselves and their families."

The union pointed to a stark comparison: production assistants on "Chicago P.D.," the third series in Dick Wolf's Chicago franchise, chose not to unionize—and those workers have not seen their hours reduced, according to Aguilar. The divergence between unionized and non-unionized crews on the same production company fuels the union's allegation that the cuts constitute unlawful retaliation.

Inconsistent Application of Hour Reductions

The hour reductions have not been applied uniformly. Some production assistants on "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago Med" continue to receive 12-hour shifts, while others have been cut to eight hours. "That's another thing where we were like, how do you pick and choose?" Aguilar told the Tribune. "At least be consistent across the board. Because if it's really about you not having the money, then why would you pay some and not the others?"

The union said it was told "the company is going to operate in a different way now that they're union," suggesting NBCUniversal views the contract ratification as justification for restructuring work schedules. Aguilar reported that multiple PAs have indicated they will need to find other jobs if the cuts continue, threatening retention on both series.

What the Contract Covers—And What It Doesn't

The newly ratified contract addressed several working conditions that non-union production assistants historically lacked. Union members secured guaranteed meal breaks, eliminating the previous practice of requiring PAs to work through lunch without compensation. The contract also negotiated more favorable healthcare benefits and formalized overtime pay structures—time-and-a-half after eight hours, standard in union film and television production.

The contract did not, however, explicitly guarantee daily minimum hours. Those guarantees existed as customary practice in the non-union deal memos PAs had worked under for multiple seasons. When workers returned in July as non-union employees while the contract was being finalized, their initial deal memos preserved the 12- and 14-hour terms. "But once they got their union deal memos (a couple of weeks later), the guarantees went away," Aguilar said. "They told our folks: Well, you're union now, so those are going away."

The union believes NBCUniversal is violating labor law but has not yet filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the Tribune report.

Production Assistants as Entry-Level—Or Long-Term—Roles

The production assistant position has traditionally served as an entry point into film and television, a way to gain on-set experience before advancing to higher-level crew roles. Industry contractions over the past two years have stalled that progression. Aguilar noted that some PAs have worked on "Chicago Fire" for eight years, no longer viewing the role as a temporary stepping stone.

"They're constantly getting screwed over," Aguilar said, describing conversations with studio representatives who questioned LIUNA's organizing efforts. "It's like, no, they need representation."

A standard 12- to 14-hour workday is common for production assistants across Hollywood productions, in part because the role is among the lowest-paid on any set. Non-union PAs typically work 60-hour weeks, performing duties that range from managing public foot traffic during location shoots to running errands and cleaning up after crew. Unlike most other film and television roles—directors covered by the Directors Guild of America, actors by SAG-AFTRA, and nearly all crew by IATSE—production assistants remained largely non-union until recent organizing campaigns by LIUNA, which has also organized PAs on ABC's "Abbott Elementary" and HBO Max's "The Pitt."

Reading Between the Lines

The alleged hour cuts on unionized Dick Wolf productions land at a moment when organizing momentum among entertainment workers is colliding with tighter studio budgets. What makes this case instructive is the natural experiment it creates: two unionized shows see hour reductions, while the non-union third show in the same franchise does not. That pattern will be difficult for NBCUniversal to explain away if the dispute advances to an unfair labor practice hearing.

The timing is also notable. PAs ratified a contract that secured meal breaks and healthcare improvements—gains that cost the studio money—and then saw their total hours reduced in a way that claws back those costs and then some. A 43% pay cut is not a marginal adjustment; it's an economic deterrent that sends a message to other non-union workers considering whether to organize.

The selective enforcement of the cuts—some PAs still working 12-hour days while others dropped to eight—suggests the hour reductions are not driven by uniform budget constraints but by discretionary scheduling decisions. If the union escalates to an NLRB filing, that inconsistency will become a focal point. For now, the case illustrates what many labor organizers already know: winning a first contract is only the beginning of the fight, and employers with enough use will test whether workers are willing to absorb economic retaliation to defend what they won on paper.