Podcasters and producers are unionizing more frequently. The latest example is iHeartMedia who announced that the company will recognize the vote of 110 employees of its podcast division who voted for unionization in December.
The employees voted to join the Writers Guild of America (WGAE) last year. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the group includes writers, producers, and editors in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York.
“We now look forward to engaging in good-faith negotiations with the company and are confident that this process will ensure the continued success and stability of the podcast industry,” the iHeartPodcast Network Organizing Committee said in a statement.
The precedent for unionizing podcast teams was set by Gimlet, Parcast, and The Ringer.
The iHeartMedia podcast bargaining unit will now begin the tough job of negotiating its first-ever collective bargaining agreement.
“A union is vital to ensuring podcast workers are able to build sustainable careers in an industry where their contributions have been essential to the sector’s continued rapid growth,” said WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson.
The union said they will focus on raising wages, minimizing workloads on shows, standardizing role descriptions, and facilitating job growth opportunities and job security.
