Crooked Media Hit with Unfair Labor Practice Charge Over Union-Busting

LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON, DC (July 29, 2024) – The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against Crooked Media in the midst of their first contract negotiations with the Crooked Media Workers Union.

Crooked Media is the podcast production company founded in 2017 by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor. The politically progressive media network is behind the popular shows Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It, and Pod Save the World. Its founders and podcasts are known for their progressive lens on politics and culture.

The WGAE filed this ULP because Crooked Media violated the National Labor Relations Act by “unilaterally changing the status quo of the previously negotiated Recognition Agreement and by insisting on a permissive subject of bargaining.” Specifically, Crooked Media has systematically excluded multiple staff members from the bargaining unit in an effort to undermine the union and deprive those workers of their collective bargaining rights. This stands in violation of the union’s rights to organize and collectively bargain and constitutes a form of union-busting.  

The ULP comes more than a year into negotiations between the 61-member bargaining unit and management at Crooked Media. The Crooked Media Workers Union is still working to close a first collective bargaining agreement that includes fair base minimum salaries, annual pay increases, and equitable terms in the event of layoffs. 

In a statement, the Crooked Media Workers Union said, “We are committed to securing a fair contract and ensuring that Crooked is progressive not only in its content, but in its treatment of the workers who make it.”

WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said, “It’s a shame when a progressive company like Crooked Media fails to live up to its own values and attempts to union-bust. The Guild fully expects Crooked Media to stop playing politics with its workers’ livelihoods and settle this first contract without delay.”

The union’s next negotiating date with Crooked Media is slated for Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST
The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts, and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org. 

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