Pushkin Industries Workers Ratify First Union Contract With Podcast Company
The 12-member unit at Pushkin Industries has reached its first collective bargaining agreement with the podcast company.
Per the Writers Guild of America East, the group, which includes writers, producers, editors and engineers, unanimously ratified the contract, establishing a minimum salary of $73,000 and guaranteed raises, among other provisions.
“We’re proud of this contract, and we think it reflects the strength of the community we’ve built at Pushkin and is an essential part of the movement to build better standards across the industry,” the bargaining unit said in a statement Friday. “We’re grateful to leadership for working with us throughout this process and for investing in our future together. The unit is looking forward to it!”
Pushkin was co-founded by Jacob Weisberg and Malcolm Gladwell. The company produces podcasts like Revisionist History, Deep Cover, Broken Record, Against the Rules with Michael Lewis, and Where’s Dia?
Below are some additional highlights from the contract, according to the WGA East:
- Guaranteed IP negotiation for shows where unit members write, research and host their own ideas
- Artificial intelligence protections, including allowing workers to decline their byline for content or altered by AI or created AI and the Company cannot use a worker’s voice or likeness to create content without consent
- Enshrining Quiet Weeks in August and December
- 16 weeks fully paid parental leave
- A minimum 12 weeks of severance, plus laptop
- Protections for remote and hybrid employees
- Reports on Company’s diversity, equity and inclusion work
- Just Cause
“I know how much effort and care went into negotiations, and am delighted that we’ve reached an agreement. We’re excited about the future at Pushkin, and grateful that we’re moving forward united, towards the same shared goals,” Pushkin CEO Gretta Cohn said in a statement of her own.
The WGA East continues to expand its representation for podcast companies, and Pushkin Industries is only the latest example. The union also represents workers at Crooked Media, the iHeart Podcast Network, Lemonada, Pineapple Street Studios, The Ringer and Spotify Studios.
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