Employees at the liberal podcast company Crooked Media have unanimously voted to approve its new labor contract after a year of negotiations.
The ratification comes after the WGA East-affiliated bargaining group staged a one-day walkout on Aug. 5 to pressure the company’s management, led by founders Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett as well as CEO Lucinda Treat, to reach a deal. The union released a long list of the topline gains earned in the contract, which include:
Deal highlights include:
- A minimum starting salary of $80,000, effective upon ratification, rising to $84,000 in 2027;
- An immediate 15% increase to base salary, and a pro-rated bonus retroactive from Jan 1, 2024, to take the place of what had previously been an annual companywide bonus;
- Additional 6% increase on first 77k of salary; 3.5% increase on 77,001-100k of salary;
- Annual minimum salary increases of 1.75% in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second and 3.75% in the third year of the contract;
- Crooked will give at least 30 days’ notice before using AI in any way that materially impacts bargaining unit employees. By March 31, 2025, Crooked will develop a public-facing AI policy;
- Successorship language that requires any new employer to assume the union contract in most instances;
- A PTO policy with a minimum 49 guaranteed days off, in addition to 20 weeks parental leave;
- Crooked will cover $955/month toward member health insurance, increasing by 10% each year
- Crooked will offer at least one health care plan that meets the World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards;
- A minimum of 13 weeks severance;
- A good faith process for layoffs, including seniority, recall rights, retraining, and two weeks notice or additional severance;
- All members are guaranteed 12 hours minimum rest time between end of work and next day’s start;
- Cell phone stipend, commuting reimbursement and working late in-office/on location meal & taxi reimbursements;
- Eliminated non-competes, at-will provisions, and mandatory arbitration provisions from individual employment agreements;
- Just cause;
- Union security;
- And Crooked must include an acknowledgment that the staff is unionized with the Writers Guild of America East at the end of all podcasts.
“It’s one thing to talk about the power of unions; it’s another to actually do the work,” the bargaining unit said in a statement. “We’re pleased to have secured a fair, progressive contract, and for those wins to set a new standard for the industry at large. If we inspire workers at one other company to stand up together, fight for each other, and insist on what they deserve, this has all been worth it.”
“Our members at Crooked Media won a contract that will set a benchmark for all workers in the podcast industry,” said WGA East President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. “We’re proud to see our members secure a hard-fought collective bargaining agreement that will support them in the essential work they do – especially in the middle of a presidential election cycle.”
