A+E Factual Studios staff is the latest to unionize

“This industry is changing very quickly and we are major stakeholders,” said Drea DiCarlo, an A+E archival associate producer and member of the union’s organizing committee. “We want to make sure that we’re not left behind in decision-making.” We heard about and saw a lot of those changes in action during the 2023 writers strike, in which scripted television writers picketed for nearly five months to secure (or, at least attempt to secure) protections against AI, improved residuals, and greater job security in the same rapidly changing industry. When scripted television production ground to a halt, it became even more apparent how much the reality TV sector has grown.

“It really showed you, OK everything that you’ve been told is the way it is, that you never really liked but you sort of accepted, you don’t have to accept it,” Safa Samiezade’-Yazd, a story producer and archival producer for A+E told Bloomberg of picketing alongside the writers and actors. “It really helped galvanize us and give us more confidence that we can ask more, if we come together and do it together just like they did during the strikes.”

The WGA says the A+E drive is their most significant to date in unscripted television. (Frankel’s union is seeking representation under SAG-AFTRA, the actors guild.) The workers are currently seeking to secure improvements to salary, healthcare, paid time off, and minimum time to rest in between shifts.