Writers At iHeartPodcast Network Look To Strike As Talks On First Contract Drag On More Than 2 Years After Unionizing

EXCLUSIVE: More than two years after unionizing through the WGA East, the writers at iHeartPodcasts still don’t have their first deal with the network. Now, the 100-member unit is prepared to strike if an agreement isn’t reached soon.

Deadline hears there is “overwhelming support” for a work stoppage if a tentative deal with iHeartPodcast Network is not reached by the end of the month.

The threat of a strike comes a month after the writers filed unfair labor practice charges against their employer for “engaging in intimidating conduct and by interrogating employees about their support for the union.”

In a statement to Deadline, the writers said: “After 2 years at the bargaining table, we hope to finally come to an agreement with management this week. But in the case we do not come to a fair agreement, our unit needs to take action to push management to make serious proposals that meet our demands. We will not accept a contract that compromises on fair wages, or on workplace protections like fair severance and just cause, especially given that iHeart has repeatedly broken labor law by illegally attempting to intimidate union members for sharing information about our union at work. We will not fold in the face of this management pressure. If we work for, in their words, ‘the #1 audio company in the United States,’ or according to the Webby Awards, ‘Podcast Company of the Year,’ our wages and benefits need to reflect our work and value to the company that made such achievements possible.”

The iHeartPodcast Network is a division of iHeartMedia, which bills itself as “the number one podcast publisher in downloads, unique listeners, revenue and earnings.” The network’s podcasts feature the likes of Chelsea Handler: Life will be the Death of Me; Disgraceland; Stuff You Should Know; Fake Doctors, Real Friends; The Ron Burgundy Podcast; Noble Blood and Committed.