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\n\tEXCLUSIVE: <\/strong>The staff at Futuro Media Group is calling on management to voluntarily recognize their desire to organize with the Writers Guild of America East.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a letter obtained by Deadline on Tuesday, the 15-member bargaining unit behind the Pulitzer Prize- and Peabody Award-winning podcast, radio, video, and digital media coverage at Futuro wrote that they felt the decision to unionize only expanded their commitment to \u201ctelling stories with heart, producing award-winning journalism, and creating stories that inform, entertain, and resonate with our audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe believe in Futuro\u2019s mission and see our union\u00a0as a way to\u00a0help make the company more collaborative,\u00a0equitable, and transparent \u2013 making it an example for our industry,\u201d the letter continued. \n\tAmong the more specific demands are clear and fair disciplinary and termination policies, <\/em>equitable pay across roles and experience levels, standardized job titles that reflect responsibilities with clear processes for promotion, ensuring that any significant expansion of responsibilities or workload is accompanied by\u00a0appropriate compensation\u00a0and support, and employee input in company decision-making.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0seen the journalism industry shaken and directly attacked. The suffering of our peers is palpable. While Futuro\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0remained\u00a0unscathed, it has rebuilt and continued to survive. As a\u00a0union\u00a0we see the\u00a0monumental effort\u00a0of this, and we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want the process of unionizing to take more resources than needed away from our important work,\u201d the letter read. \u201cThat is why in\u00a0good will, we are presenting\u00a0an initial\u00a0collective contract that covers only essential labor protections. Our goal is to achieve union recognition and a union contract at the same time, to minimize the costs and time that more extensive bargaining might incur.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt continues: \u201cLeadership has told us that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0integral in fulfilling the mission of Futuro: telling stories of our communities from a humane and nuanced perspective.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0deeply invested in this and through collective\u00a0bargaining,\u00a0we hope to honor and enshrine those values in our culture,\u00a0communities\u00a0and contracts. As a non-profit and one of the last remaining independent audio companies in the industry, we also believe we have a particular opportunity to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0leadership for our peers and show how this process can make Futuro stronger and more competitive.\u201d
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In addition to voluntary recognition, the Futuro union is asking management to concurrently agree to a basic union contract containing industry-standard provisions including just cause and a fair disciplinary process, codified wages and benefits, and other standard protections to preserve an equitable workplace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Futuro Media was founded in 2010 by Maria Hinojosa. The group produces the Peabody Award-winning Latino USA radio program. Other recent projects include the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast Suave, and critically acclaimed podcasts La Brega, Anything for Selena and Loud: The History of Reggaeton.
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In addition to Futuro, the WGA East represents Online Media members at Bustle Digital Group, Civic News Group, Committee to Protect Journalists, Fast Company & Inc., Financial Times Specialists, Future PLC, Gizmodo Media USA, HuffPost,\u00a0Jalopnik\u00a0at Static Media, Hearst Magazines, Inc., Jewish Currents, NowThis, Onion Inc., Salon, Slate, Talking Points Memo, The Intercept, The Root, Vox Media and VICE.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n