Secretly Group Employees Working for Labels Including Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans, Numero Group and More Form Union

Employees of Secretly Group, which includes Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans, Numero Group, Ghostly International, Secretly Distribution and Secretly Publishing have formed union. The Secretly Group Union aims to “manifest progressive change” within the company, focusing on ways to improve the work environment for all of Secretly Group’s subsidiaries.

“Our goal is to spotlight the rights of our staff and the health of our workplace,” Secretly Group Union said in a statement on Twitter. “Working in the music industry is not an easy way to support oneself for the majority of people; this is the case for both artists and those working behind the scenes. Our enthusiasm for the culture in which we work can lead to exploitation in ways endemic to the creative industries: poor wages, inadequate benefits, lack of work/life boundaries, gatekeeping that obstructs professional development, and an absence of initiatives that address systemic race and gender inequality.”

The union is represented by OPEIU Local 174, which also has union membership at Universal Music Group, Disney, Comcast Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, WarnerBrothers, Sony Studios and Fox Studios. The union informed asked Secretly Group that they be recognized as a union, stating that if they would not do so, they would take the case to the National Labor Relations Board in order to gain recognition.

“We are forming Secretly Group Union because we love the work we do and the music we share with the world,” the statement said. “We are committed to building a truly inclusive, progressive and ethical work environment to guarantee Secretly Group’s place at the fore of a better music industry for all.”

Members of the Secretly Group Union spoke to Kim Kelly in an article for Rolling Stone, the employees choosing to remain anonymous due to concern of retaliation.  “So many of us had been trying to bring up these issues and solve them individually, and they were not being heard,” one worker said. “There was a point where you think, what are the alternatives here? What is our other option other than to come together and collectively advocate for ourselves, and to make sure that we have the backing and power to do so?”