Workers from Secretly Group, Secretly Distribution, Secretly Publishing, Numero Group and Ghostly International form a union. In a statement calling for voluntary recognition from Secretly Group partners and senior management, the Secretly Group Union set out its reasons for organizing together with the Bureau and the International Union of Professional Employees (OPEIU Local 174). “Our enthusiasm for the culture in which we work can lead to exploitation endemic to creative industries: low wages, inadequate benefits, lack of work / life boundaries, gatekeeping that obstructs professional development and the absence of initiatives addressing systemic race and gender inequality. “Read the full statement below.
Secretly Group includes the independent labels Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans. In an article by Kim Kelly for Rolling Stone, the workers – who all requested anonymity for the concern of reprisals – spoke in depth about the problems they face at work. “So many of us have tried to bring these issues and solve them individually and they have not been heard,” said a member of the organizing committee. “There was a point where you think, what are the alternatives here? What is the other option but to come together and plead collectively for ourselves and make sure we have the support and strength to do so? ”
In its mission statement, the union criticized the company for its “performative alliance,” which they wrote was not enough when the voices of our most vulnerable employees – people of color, women and gender-disaggregated staff – became increasingly what more marginalized ”.