Three Writer's Guild of America members were surrounded, detained, and handcuffed as they attempted to pass out flyers outside the Hollywood and Highland Center. The members were peacefully passing out flyers about Fremantle Media and its unfair labor practices for its workers, something that has been done by many groups in the past without incident, when the center's security guards handcuffed them. Lame. What makes us think the Idol people put the the guards up to this? A lawsuit is being considered against the security guards, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily.

Vote for the Worst had the pleasure of talking to Justin Buckles, a former staff member for American Idol. His time on the show has led him to help create The American Idol Truth Tour to expose the poor conditions that Idol workers face to produce the country's #1 show. Read on to see the kinds of poor conditions that Justin worked in, why he's speaking up, and if the contestants on the show get the same raw deal.

How did you get a job at Fremantle working for American Idol?

A friend gave the show my name and number and told them I was available to work, so they gave me a call.

What was your exact job title and were you ever given a copy of the description?

I was not given any description of what my duties were, no one is given a description. You are thrown into the office and just expected to know how things work. When I left the show I was the Head Runner, which is nothing more than a production assistant that had been there the longest. I was demoted, in title and pay, when we returned from the audition tour. I was lied to when we went out on the road and told that I would be moving up to another position when we returned from the road, but that never happened and instead they demoted me and brought someone else to fill that position. That was when I started looking for another job.

Check out this video from the tour's first stop in San Francisco.

The Los Angeles Times ran an article today with a response from Fremantle, the producers of American Idol, toward the American Idol Truth Tour (sponsored by the Writer's Guild of America). The Tour asserts that Fremantle does not pay its employees overtime, forces them to work 16 hour days and 7 day weeks, and that no health coverage is given for this work... basically all violations of California Labor Laws. Fremantle executive vice president of business operations David Shall responded that the claims are not true and that "our position is that most of our reality shows and a good chunk of our game shows don't need writers." Good job saying that writers aren't important. See if any work for you again. And that statement says nothing about the labor law violations or the fact that this includes more than writers. Nice job trying your always lame "innocence by omission" tactic, Fremantle. We'd like a quote saying, "We do not violate California Labor Laws" just so it can be used against you in court later. Thanks much.