A+E Factual Studios Workers Vote to Unionize

Workers at A+E’s nonfiction television division voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America East in a National Labor Relations Board election on Wednesday, nearly two years after they went public with their organizing efforts.

The election saw 84 percent of more than 140 eligible workers vote to join the New York-based WGA East. A+E Factual Studios, which is co-owned by Hearst and Disney, produces titles including Dance Moms: A New Era, History’s Greatest Mysteries, Cold Case Files and The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.

The bargaining unit ranges from around 50 to 100 producers, depending on how many projects are currently in progress.

“We’re thrilled to welcome workers at A+E Factual Studios to the Writers Guild of America East,” WGA East vp of film, television and stremaing Michael Rauch said in a statement about the vote. “We look forward to bargaining a fair first contract that reflects the value of their work, and continues to build on the momentum we’ve grown across nonfiction television production.”  

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to A+E for comment.

When workers at A+E Factual Studios first went public with their organizing drive, they cited “tight turnarounds and unrealistic expectations from network executives” as well as heavy workloads as motivators for the move. The group sought to improve those alleged working conditions, raise wages, institute portable health insurance that they could bring to other jobs and enshrine “stronger anti-harassment and discrimination policies.”

But while the union asked for voluntary recognition, the company did not accede to that request. Instead, the company argued that the employment agency Atrium, which a union source argued served as a payroll company in this case, was the workers’ employer. The case went to the NLRB, where a regional director determined that A+E Factual Studios was the employer.

The WGA East has long been active in organizing the unscripted space. Current production companies unionized with the labor group include Story Syndicate, Sharp Entertainment, Jigsaw Productions, McGee Media, Vice, Vox Entertainment and NBC News Service.