In May, we said farewell to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and we salute the musicians who made it great over the years, including Jon Batiste (and the members of Stay Human) and Louis Cato (and the members of The Great Big Joy Machine, pictured below.)

Musicians were covered by an AFM contract for all this time and we mourn the 200 union jobs that are being lost in this unfair and unjust cancellation, including the hardworking members of WGA East, IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild and everyone else who made the show a success.

Local 802 President Dan Point was interviewed on the WBAI-NY show “Frontline Voices,” where he said of the show’s unionized creative workers: “It’s sad to see the literal end of an era but we couldn’t be more proud of everything their teams accomplished together and the way they protected the workers while they did it.”

Point added, “For us the Late Show is the latest in a series of cancellations in the late night television genre. Historically, these shows are a key source of exhibition and for national audiences watching a broadcast going back many decades and increasing in the streaming era. You have an international audience as well. So, they not only provided good paying jobs but a tremendous amount of exposure not just for the house band but also for all of the rotating musical guests that came through as well as dozens and dozens of new emerging artists.”

Listen to President Point’s interview here.