Union Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Contract (Exclusive)

Nonfiction workers at the prominent production company behind This Is a Gardening Show and Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich have ratified their first union contract.

A roughly 50-member bargaining unit at the nonfiction division of RadicalMedia voted to greenlight the new five-year deal on Friday, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Ninety-five percent of voting workers voted to approve the deal by Oct. 9 and the union’s council approved the contract on Thursday. The Writers Guild of America East represents the group of workers, which encompasses archival producers, story producers, field workers and postproduction workers, among others.

The Justin Barocas-led company has also worked on the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) as well as the Conversations with a Killer franchise, Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare and Hollywood Black.

“We’re thrilled RadicalMedia workers secured their first union contract,” WGA East vp of film, television and streaming Michael Rauch said in a statement. “This agreement builds on protections nonfiction production workers have gone without for too long including rest periods, pay when production is paused on short notice, paid holidays and health care contributions. With RadicalMedia joining a growing list of organized nonfiction shops, the message to the industry is clear: union standards are becoming the norm.”

THR has reached out to RadicalMedia for comment.

The new deal establishes wage rate minimums that will rise by two percent in each year of the contract. Workers can access the Entertainment Industry Flex Plan and the employer will offer daily contributions for each employee to the health insurance plan. Some usual union language is included — such as paid holidays and bereavement leave as well as minimum rest periods and comp days — but also a nonfiction-specific provision that requires the company to pay employees if a specific show goes dark with little notice ahead of time.

In a statement, the union’s bargaining committee called the deal an “important milestone” in the push to organize more nonfiction work. The committee added, “We’re especially proud to have won participation in the Flex Plan, as health insurance is often out of reach for those of us working in a freelance environment.”

The WGA East has been aggressively attempting to organize nonfiction production companies for some time and currently has bargaining units at Jigsaw Productions, Story Syndicate, Vox Entertainment, McGee Media, Sharp, Lucky 8, A+E Factual Studios and NBC News Service.