Workers at Story Syndicate, a renowned documentary production company responsible for projects such as “Harry and Meghan,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and the “Unknown” series, have achieved voluntary union recognition from management. This recognition grants them the ability to negotiate for their fair share of the “windfall profits for the largest streaming platforms in the world” resulting from their work.
The successful unionization effort is a result of the collaboration between the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG), representing approximately 25 to 100 producers and 12 to 30 editorial employees, depending on the number of titles in production. The groups attribute their triumph to a “remarkable example of inter-union solidarity.”
The next step for the workers is to negotiate a contract with Story Syndicate, which was founded by Dan Cogan and Liz Garbus, an Oscar and Emmy-winning couple. Lowell Peterson, executive director of WGAE, expressed the workers’ recognition of the power of collective bargaining and the WGAE to improve working standards in the nonfiction TV industry.
This achievement marks another milestone in the ongoing efforts to bring more documentary and non-fiction work under collective bargaining agreements. While historically most documentary production companies have been non-union, the rise of streaming companies, with their increasing focus on nonfiction content, has prompted workers in the sector to organize.
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Story Syndicate is now part of a small but growing list of documentary production houses where editors enjoy union representation. Previous examples include companies founded by acclaimed filmmakers like Errol Morris, Ken Burns, and Michael Moore.
The Story Syndicate workers emphasized the substantial profits generated by streaming companies in their letter explaining the reasons for unionization. They expressed their satisfaction with securing a seat at the table to shape the future of the company, the nonfiction labor industry, and the overall entertainment industry. They also urged their colleagues in the nonfiction sector to unite for the same representation and influence that their counterparts in the scripted entertainment industry have long enjoyed.
Alan Heim, president of the Editors Guild, voiced his support for the unionization effort, affirming that the artists who contribute to these projects deserve recognition, respect, and workplace protections that have been fought for by their scripted counterparts.
Despite multiple requests for comment, Story Syndicate did not respond.
Voluntary recognition seems to be an increasingly preferred approach among employers as unions garner historic levels of support. This process allows management to acknowledge a union without undergoing an election to prove majority support among the employees. Earlier this year, unions at Nickelodeon, ZeniMax Studios, and Major League Baseball were voluntarily recognized.
Currently, Marvel may face a similar choice regarding the recognition of a union formed by over 50 visual effects crew members. These crew members filed for a unionization election to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, further highlighting the industry-wide shift towards union representation.
