News

SNAP JUDGMENT AND SPOOKED UNIONIZE

19 Sep, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carrie Biggs-Adams: carrie@nabet51.org, (415) 398-3160
Twitter/X: @workersofsnap51
Instagram: @workersofsnap
Website: workersofsnapstudios.com

SNAP JUDGMENT AND SPOOKED UNIONIZE

[Oakland, CA; Sept. 18, 2023] The producers, engineers, and artists of Snap Studios, the production company behind the award-winning radio program and podcast Snap Judgment and the chart-topping podcast Spooked, have unionized as the Workers of Snap Studios. They are represented by NABET-CWA (National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians - Communications Workers of America) Local 51.

Snap Judgment was launched in 2010 by host Glynn Washington and co-executive producer Mark Ristich. In 2017, a spin-off series focused on supernatural storytelling, Spooked, was born. On August 8, 2023, it was announced that both shows–which for years had been produced by a small, independent team headquartered in Oakland, CA–had been acquired by San Francisco’s NPR and PBS member station, KQED.

In response, eleven members of the team formed a union with NABET-CWA, which already represents several groups within KQED. Workers of Snap Studios are on Twitter/X as @workersofsnap51 and Instagram as @workersofsnap, and their website is workersofsnapstudios.com

On Monday, September 18, 2023, the Workers of Snap Studios released the following vision
statement:

WORKERS OF SNAP STUDIOS VISION STATEMENT

We are the producers, engineers, and artists of Snap Studios. For over a decade, we have crafted some of the most intimate, dramatic stories from around the world. Together we have inspired empathy, connection and change. Between our two shows, Snap Judgment and Spooked, our musical brand of storytelling reaches over 3.5 million listeners via podcast and airs on over 500 radio stations nationwide. With new projects on the horizon, we will reach an even bigger audience.

In the past year, Snap Judgment laid off valuable employees and the remaining staff saw significant cuts in our salaries, forcing us into a place of uncertainty and financial precarity. We were not informed of the KQED acquisition by either KQED or Snap Judgment until the news went public. We were not offered opportunities to discuss, negotiate, or advocate for ourselves. While we are thrilled to be joining KQED’s staff of talented and creative professionals, we cannot move forward without a seat at the table and a voice in important decisions that directly affect us.

We have decided the best way for us to secure our future is to form a union with NABET-CWA. With over 70 years of experience advocating for creative workers including existing units at KQED, we are excited to have NABET-CWA Local 51 represent us at the bargaining table. We will be negotiating for fair compensation; an adequate and inclusive benefits package that builds on our established working conditions, not takes away from them; protections for our intellectual property; and fair and transparent contractor practices.

Our audience is counting on us. We ask that Snap Studios and KQED leadership voluntarily recognize our union, WORKERS OF SNAP STUDIOS as part of NABET-CWA Local 51 so that we can reach a contract that allows us to continue making stories that dare our listeners to see the world through the eyes of another.