The employees of Secretly Group, Secretly Distribution, Secretly Publishing, Numero Group and Ghostly International form a union. In a statement asking the voluntary group partners and management for voluntary recognition, the Secretly Group Union explained its reasons for organizing with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU Local 174). “Our enthusiasm for the culture we work in can lead to exploitation in ways that are widespread in the creative industry: poor wages, poor performance, lack of boundaries between work and life, gatekeeping that hinders professional development, and the lack of initiatives to address systemic race and gender inequality. “Read the full statement below.
The Secretly Group includes the independent labels Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans. In an article written by Kim Kelly for Rolling Stone, workers, all of whom had sought anonymity for retaliation, spoke at length about the problems their workplaces are facing. “So many of us tried to bring these issues up and solve them one by one and they weren’t heard,” said one organizing committee member. “There came a point where you think what are the alternatives here? What is our other option than to come together and stand up for ourselves together and make sure we have the backing and the power to do so? “
In its mission statement, the union criticized the company for “performative allies”, which it wrote: “It is not enough if the voices of our most vulnerable employees – people of the same color, women and sexually abusive employees – are increasingly marginalized.”
