The Ringer's move to outside contributors, like Steve Kerr, is a sticking point in talks with staffers' unionGetty Images
The influx of celebrity talent that The Ringer is bringing on as contractors -- including Warriors coach Steve Kerr and former MLBer CC Sabathia -- has "raised concerns among many full-time employees, who say it may close off their opportunities for advancement and weaken the company's union," according to Noam Scheiber of the N.Y. TIMES. Employees formed The Ringer Union last year, which is "affiliated with the Writers Guild of America, East, and has about 65 members." Ringer management "quickly recognized the union," but negotiations toward a CBA "have stalled, and the company's move toward outside contributors has been a sticking point." Last month two Ringer employees with large followings -- Jason Concepcion and Haley O'Shaughnessy -- announced they were leaving. The departure of the two "homegrown stars," along with the arrival of high-profile outsiders, "underscored among many staff members that [The Ringer Founder Bill] Simmons favored an approach that would allow him to produce a significant amount of content with contractors, who are not eligible for the union." Ringer employees said that Simmons "showed signs of trying to marginalize the union dating back to when it was formed last year." Simmons around that same time hired Ryen Russillo -- a former ESPN colleague -- to "host a podcast." The union sought to include Russillo but "management resisted, and the union eventually agreed to leave him out." Since that dispute, high-profile podcast hosts have "joined The Ringer as contractors, who are ineligible to become union members, rather than as employees" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/20).
