Secretly Group: Music Company workers begin efforts to unionize

Secretly Group: Music Company workers begin efforts to unionize

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The history of the music industry in the United States is full of unions, strikes and collective actions – from the 1942-44 musicians’ strike to the 2019 No Music for ICE campaign – but the focus tended to land on the artists themselves. Union-minded musicians have a few options: the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) was founded in 2012, and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) dates back to 1986; they collectively represent about 75,000 musicians, most of whom work with orchestras, in opera or musical theater. These existing structures serve only a small percentage, however, leaving the other 99% of musicians to fend for themselves. In 2020, the Music Workers Alliance was founded by a group of independent music workers to defend themselves and make the industry more fair through collective action.

SAG-AFTRA represents the office staff of several major record labels, but smaller independent companies – despite their own financial pressures and difficulties – have been left out and need to go it alone. The workers at the prominent indie music company Secretly Group want to change that. On Tuesday morning, most employees released their union plan – and if they succeed, Secretly Group Union will make history as one of the first independent record label teams to do so.

“We all had friends who said, ‘Oh, you are so lucky. You start working with music, you get a free ticket to a show or free drinks, ‘but drinks and shows and music don’t pay our rent, and they don’t give us the support we need, ”a member of the organizing committee, who asked anonymity, says Rolling Stone. “Obviously, we have a real passion for what we do. We love our list and we are very proud of all the songs that we have released, and proud of being able to work on it. But this is not a substitute for the types of benefits and compensations we need to continue to be able to do this. “

Secretly Group Union committee members have a long list of concerns and problems that they hope to resolve and rectify with a union contract, from low wages and inadequate health benefits to the desire for greater transparency and representation.

“Our goal is to highlight the rights of our team and the health of our workplace. Working in the music industry is not an easy way for most people to support themselves; this is the case for both artists and those working behind the scenes ”, wrote the group in a open letter released Tuesday. “Our enthusiasm for the culture in which we work can lead to the exploration of forms endemic to the creative industries: low wages, inadequate benefits, lack of work / life limits, control that obstructs professional development and the absence of initiatives that address the systemic race and gender inequality. We seek recognition from the Grupo Secretamente union to address these issues that are unsustainable for the well-being of our team and, therefore, of the company in general. “

The half dozen workers who spoke to Rolling Stone for this story everyone requested anonymity, citing concerns about retaliation; several are based in the main location of Bloomington, Indiana, while others are employed at the company’s other three offices in the United States.

“Many of us tried to bring these problems to the surface and solve them individually, but they were not being heard” – Secretly Group employee

The Secretly Group comprises four independent record labels – Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans and Ghostly International – a distribution arm and a music publisher, as well as the file label Numero Group. The Secretly Group’s general roster represents a number of critically acclaimed artists, including Yoko Ono, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, The War on Drugs, Khruangbin, Mitski and Bright Eyes, and has expanded rapidly in recent years. (It now has offices in several countries, although only workers based in the U.S. are involved in the current union campaign.) This growth helped keep the company afloat, as the pandemic devastated the industry around it, but the workers say it was them. who ended up paying the price.

“There was a lot of pressure and a lot of uncertainty about how to handle the additional workload,” explains one worker. “I spend all my time working. I work a lot of unpaid overtime because it is preferable to the petty micromanagement that I will experience if I am unable to complete my large number of tasks. “

This pressure contributed to the union movement, but organizers say it was not the only factor. One organizer points to the 2020 racial justice upheavals as a fuel for his determination to address persistent issues around diversity and inclusion at work in a meaningful way. They also cite other recent efforts to organize in the arts and the media, such as the successful Pitchfork union movement, as well as the current Amazon workers’ union struggle in Bessemer, Alabama, President Biden’s pro-union messages and changes in the National Labor Relations Borda.

“Along with the civil rights movement and the pandemic, and how people know they are working hard and deserve more, everything kind of came together at the same time,” they explain.

After months of discussion, the committee contacted the Local Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) 174, which represents the administrative staff of several major brand groups, last August. “When we started talking to them, we saw a lot of frustration and determination to make their workplace a better work environment,” said OPEIU International organizer Andom “Nati” Kahsay Rolling Stone via email.

“Many of us tried to bring these problems to the surface and resolve them individually, but they were not being heard,” said a member of the organizing committee. Rolling Stone. “There came a point where you thought, ‘What are the alternatives here? What is our other option but to come together and defend ourselves collectively and make sure we have the support and the power to do so? ‘”

In the letter, the group criticizes Secretly Group for “a performative ally” which “is not enough when the voices of our most vulnerable employees – people of color, women and non-conforming gender workers – have become increasingly marginalized. ” In an example given to Rolling Stone, the company hired an outsourced “HR compliance company” to conduct a series of diversity training sessions, but workers felt that the efforts seemed empty.

“There are many unwritten expectations of jobs in which people are discreetly punished or retaliated for failing to live up to them.” —Secretly Group employee

“Without actionable items or without confirmed self-reflection for the team, they feel broadly performative, like a check box informing that they have done something,” explains one worker. “It’s very easy to sign your name on initiatives to say publicly that you are supporting things, but when it comes to the way you treat your team, the things that people don’t see, it is usually more indicative of your true character.”

“Your value and growth in the company depends on how friendly you are with management,” adds a warehouse employee. (Secretly Group members and a company representative did not respond to requests for comment.)

Workers say certain wheels that creak in the company have been ignored or frozen. “There are many unwritten job expectations where people are discreetly punished or retaliated for failing to meet them,” said an official. “At the moment, someone may be working very hard and achieving all of their goals, but still never be rewarded for it due to the implied expectations, and that is not right.”

Although they declined to provide an exact number of employees involved in the union campaign, organizing committee members say they have already achieved a comfortable majority. The hope is that the Secretly Group will honor its request for voluntary recognition, but if the company refuses, workers will not give up.

“We already have numbers to win an election,” explains one organizer. “Many people in the past year, whether you’re onstage or behind the scenes, have come to the same kind of conclusions: that people in power are not responsible. They do not compensate us fairly. And there is no representation for us. So I am very proud of the fact that we can be part of a movement and that we are able to be inspired by other people in our industry who work towards these goals, because, in the end, we are all part of the same struggle. “

“I want the Secretly Group to be a place where people are treated fairly; I want to be passionate about music as a reason why people are treated well, not a reason why people don’t get a fair wage, ”said a worker who grew up in Indiana. “SG releases songs that change the course of modern music. That’s how the people who work here change the path of the modern music industry. “

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