As widely covered today, unionization of Gimlet Media and The Ringer has been completed via agreements with parent company Spotify. The negotiations were handled by veteran union negotiator WGA. Gimlet has 48 union members; The Ringer has 65.
Membership in either union is required of employees and new hires. spotify is obligate to release any Gimlet or Ringer employee who does not pay union dues as a pro-rated percentage of paychecks (except for unusual conditions).
Jobs and Salaries
The two units, Gimlet Media and The Ringer, identify different job categories of employment. The salaries determined for each job could ripple through all of network-owned podcasting as a cost template for high-end podcast production.
Below we list applicable job roles and minimum salaries.
Gimlet Media jobs & minimum compensations
- Associate Producer $73,000 effective 3/1/2021 — $74,000 effective 3/1/2022 — $75,000 effective 3/1/2023
- Editor $125,000
- Host $110,000
- Producer $87,000
- Associate Editor $100,000
- Reporter/Producer $87,000
- Senior Producer (individual contributor track) $108,000 effective 3/1/2021 — $109,000 effective 3/1/2022 — $110,000 effective 3/1/2023
- Senior Producer (supervisory track) $108,000 effective 3/1/2021 — $109,000 effective 3/1/2022 — $110,000 effective 3/1/2023
The Ringer jobs & minimum compensations
- Audio Production Assistant Effective 3/1/21 $57,000 (overtime eligible)
- Editorial Assistant Effective 3/1/22 $58,500 (overtime eligible)
- Fact Checker Effective 3/1/23 $60,000 (overtime eligible)
- Production Assistant(no minimum listed)
- Social Content Assistant (no minimum listed)
- Associate Video Producer Effective 3/1/21: $60,000 (overtime eligible)
- Associate Audio Producer Effective 3/1/22: $61,000 (overtime eligible)
- Social Content Coordinator Effective 3/1/23: $62,000 (overtime eligible)
- Assistant Editor Effective 3/1/21: $63,500
- Associate Staff Writer (no minimum listed)
- Associate Editor Effective 3/1/21: $67,500
- Copy Editor (no minimum listed)
- Staff Writer (no minimum listed)
- Audio Producer Effective 3/1/21: $75,000
- Designer (no minimum listed)
- Social Content Producer (no minimum listed)
- Video Producer (no minimum listed)
- Senior Copy Editor Effective 3/1/21: $78,000
- Senior Content Producer (no minimum listed)
- Senior Staff Writer Effective 3/1/21: $81,000
- Editor at Large “No minimum”
Other Terms
Each agreement is 18 pages long. Sections include stipulations and conditions around diversity, discrimination, company relocation, use of contractors, managing editorial standards, language governing the rights of spin-off products like books, employee resources, anti-harassment assurance, the even basic severence terms in the case of layoffs — and guidelines for layoffs.
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