Members of the Crooked Media Workers Union are conducting a one-day walkout Monday after more than a year of contract negotiations with the progressive podcasting and media network.

The primary asks for the contract include competitive salary minimums, annual cost-of-living adjustments and safeguards against layoffs. More than 95 percent of the 61-member bargaining unit, who are affiliated with Writers Guild of America East signed the walkout pledge, and the union members say they will not accept a contract without these provisions. Crooked Media was founded in 2017 by former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, with Pod Save America as its flagship podcast. The company has grown to include more than a dozen podcasts, including Lovett or Leave It and Pod Save the World, as well a voting and political action committee, Vote Save America, and more. Crooked Media voluntarily recognized the workers union in February 2023.

Contract negotiations began in May 2023. Leah Barteldes, who works with Vote Save America in D.C., said members of the unit decided to conduct the walkout because there are a few areas in the contract negotiations that they have yet to see movement on.

We want a contract that reflects both the work that were putting in and the economic landscape. Were looking for fair, competitive salary minimums, cost of living adjustments yearly that reflect inflation, layoff protections, along with other benefits and policies that embody the progressive values that we believe Crooked has, Barteldes said.

Charlotte Landes, an audio engineer at Crooked Media in Los Angeles and a member of the bargaining committee, added that given the companys progressive roots, the hope is this contract could provide a way forward for others in the podcasting and media industry.

We all know Crooked is a progressive media company, espouses progressive values, and we really think that Crooked basically has an opportunity to set an industry standard, show everybody else how its done, how it could be if we choose to live those values, Landes said.

While Bloomberg recently published an article about clashes at the company between younger, more liberal staffers and what they saw as the more moderate founders over their political positions, guild insiders with knowledge of the negotiations said that was not related to the unions current actions or positioning. While the two sides have become more energized over the past few weeks, the overall mood is still cordial, they said.

The move comes after the WGAE filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge last week against Crooked Media with the National Labor Relations Act, saying the company had purposefully excluded multiple members from the bargaining unit.

The company has also been producing an increased content load ahead of the presidential election, with Pod Save America adding an additional weekly show as well as increased production needs for the shows hosted by the founders, in addition to the creation of new podcasts.

That kind of increased workload has absolutely led to people realizing that what they do for this company is valuable and that they deserve to benefit, Landes said.

In regards to the layoff protections, Crooked Media has not faced major layoffs itself, Landes said, but there have been layoffs and the protections are meant to speak to the general uncertainty facing media companies.

The goal is to reach a contract agreement by Aug. 8.