SENIOR EDITOR, BOOKS
4 YEARS AT ATK

“You are doing this for each other" was guidance given to us at the start of organizing our campaign and has been my motivation throughout. WE—the employees of ATK—are the heart of this company. Without us there would be no recipes, no magazines, no cookbooks, no TV shows, no videos, no podcasts, no social media—no content, period. And yet, we are paid far below our competitors, and in many cases, barely a minimum subsistence wage for Boston.

We have to rely on partners, savings, and second jobs to make staying at ATK financially sustainable, which is stressful and demeaning.

I am unionizing for the fair pay that we deserve, and I am beyond proud to stand in solidarity with this exceptional group of coworkers and friends.

3 YEARS AT ATK

It’s financially difficult to survive at ATK. During my first two years at ATK, I barely cracked $42K, which set me back financially. I wasn’t able to invest any money into retirement, because I couldn’t afford to. Though I love my job and the people I work with, I often have considered leaving in the hope I’d find a job that would allow me to not feel constant anxiety about my finances.

I believe a union would help ATK in giving all employees access to equal and fair pay that is in line with the high cost of living in Boston, and help us achieve fair pricing for health insurance. I have seen amazing talent leave ATK because they simply couldn’t afford to work here. Most importantly, it will give the majority of this company a voice, the opportunity to protect themselves and their interests, so we can all continue to do the jobs we love, without the anxiety of financial burden constantly sitting on our shoulders.

STAFF WRITER/PODCAST PRODUCER, ATK KIDS
2 YEARS AT ATK

I love my job, and I love this company. My favorite thing about working at ATK is the people: Everyone who works here is passionate, talented and kind. Which is why I think a union is so important. We deserve job protection, fair wages and clear paths for advancement. I want to keep working here for as long as possible, but I can’t do so knowing that so many of my coworkers aren’t making the pay they deserve, never mind a living wage. I can’t feel good about making a career for myself here until everyone at this company can afford to live in the Boston Metro Area. We are a profitable company and should be fairly paying everyone, especially those who develop and test the recipes all of our content is based on.

I think a union will give us a fair and respected voice in the conversation and a seat at the table with management and with the board. It will make sure our voices are heard and our concerns are met with action and lasting solutions. It will be for the benefit of current and future employees. A union will help make sure that this is truly a great place to work.

ASSISTANT EDITOR, REVIEWS
4 YEARS AT ATK

I’m acutely aware of the fact that I never would have been able to take a job at ATK without my long list of privileges. The only reasons I’ve avoided having to get a second job is because I don’t have student loan debt or health care costs (because I am currently under 26), and I have a partner who pays a larger share of the rent. When I brought concerns about my salary to upper management, they encouraged me to seek out a second job and/or to move farther away from our Boston office for a cheaper cost of living. This proves that they’re aware of the fact that it’s difficult to make ends meet on our current salaries.

Forming an ATK union will help to ensure that current and future employees of all backgrounds will have a more sustainable and supportive workplace.

3 YEARS AT ATK

ATK banks on employees getting outside support and payment (of all shapes and forms) in order to survive.

Many departments are held up by people “unofficially” working most nights and weekends. They rarely take vacations and some have even been told that they will have to wait to take any days off until a later date when there is less work to be done. There is never less work to be done.

At one point, someone was tasked with determining what the systematic issues were within a department and recommending changes. When that person brought their concerns to upper management (who tasked them with this job in the first place) they were essentially told, “Yeah I’ve heard this all before. I keep hearing this, and yet, everything still gets done, so I don’t see the problem.”

[ATK United] has already made me feel more supported and valued than I ever have at the company and I want everyone to gain this network of caring people who are looking out, and advocating, for everyone.

CULINARY PRODUCER
7+ YEARS AT ATK

For 7+ years I have committed my work self to my amazing coworkers and to ATK. Having moved amongst culinary departments in an unusual pattern, [I’ve seen] some perpetual patterns remain: lack of trajectory, zero employee training to further growth, high turnover, loss of talent, and lack of pay. "Benefits" are thrown at us as a "reminder" on a monthly basis. Merit-based raises are below inflation percentages and [there are] zero cost-of-living adjustments. As a married gay female with a 1.5-year-old daughter, ¼ of my annual salary goes towards my healthcare premium. Large companies nationally contribute roughly 80+% towards healthcare premiums, ATK contributes 54%. I'm voting yes so we can be the best place to work we claim to be.

Unionizing at ATK would finally bridge the gap between us and a competitive industry while also forcing management to finally show some everyday leadership.

9 YEARS AT ATK

I love working at ATK. The people are amazing, as is the content that we all produce, execute, and develop daily. One of the systematic problems, however, is that there is no compensation for added responsibilities to your regular job. I’d say the first one that comes to mind is appearing in various social platforms, videos, etc. It is assumed that if we get to do a video or participate in social media content that we should feel “lucky,” but the reality is it takes a ton of extra work/organization/energy to do these things on top of our jobs. Because we are expanding so much in those fields of video, it is crucial to implement a system which clearly lays out how participating will be compensated. [Unionizing] will provide transparency.

TEST KITCHEN SHOPPING & RECEIVING LEAD,
KITCHEN OPERATIONS
5 YEARS AT ATK

We know we’re lucky to work with such talented, passionate people doing what we love, but top-level management has taken advantage of that for far too long. So many teams are chronically understaffed, overworked, and underpaid. The company is boasting record profits, yet many of us have been forced to take on second jobs or drain our savings in order to subsidize our careers at ATK.

Our union will finally give us a voice to advocate for fair pay, manageable workloads, and standard working hours. Together we will make ATK a more equitable and sustainable workplace for all of us.

3 YEARS AT ATK

I have loved my work and my colleagues. I have been frustrated by my salary, which is half or ⅓ what I would make elsewhere.

I believe in equity for all and I don’t think many of us who move this company forward receive equitable rewards for our hard work. I want everyone at ATK to reap the benefits of working at a successful company, and I want to help build an environment for future employees that will allow them to continue to believe in the greatness of this company and have a say in its decisions.

DEPUTY FOOD EDITOR, ATK KIDS
7 YEARS AT ATK

ATK’s staff is made up of the most brilliant, hardworking, creative people I’ve ever worked with. The unspoken story, however, is that nearly all of those hardworking people are struggling to survive financially. There have been times as a recipe developer at one of the most highly regarded food institutions in the country that I have been food insecure. That irony is shameful.

When I came to ATK 7 years ago as a career-changer, I knew I would be starting over at the bottom, but I never expected the bottom to be so low (in the $30k range) at such a prestigious company. I am still here and after years of relentless self-advocacy have negotiated a livable wage, but I have spent many sleepless nights wrestling with whether or not I could stay at this job. I have watched far too many talented colleagues leave simply because they could not afford to stay.

1+ YEAR WITH ATK

I love my job, and I love the people I work with. But I can't keep quiet knowing that so many of my coworkers across the company are unsupported and underpaid. Their stories are appalling and, frankly, many have worked in unacceptable conditions for too long. I was horrified to learn that some have relied on leftovers from recipe testing to feed themselves, or sold equipment from our giveaway to pay for necessities. I've struggled to afford the rising cost of living myself, and the only reason I am able to save anything is because I have a partner and I live in Providence, which has yet to have the insane rental prices of Boston—although I fear that is changing.

A union will give our employees the agency to demand the basic necessities they rightfully deserve. It will also ensure that ATK grows as an equitable, caring and progressive workplace.

INSTRUCTOR, ONLINE COOKING SCHOOL
17 YEARS AT ATK

For 17 years I have worked at ATK creating content for almost every editorial department in the company. ATK employs some of the most creative people I’ve had the pleasure of working with, with a consistent theme that says we are in this together, we are a family. And for seventeen years I have received glowing reviews, but with salary increases far below cost of living, and in some years no salary increase at all. Meanwhile, the company consistently grows and we are told how financially sound ATK is. It just doesn’t add up. I am happy to be part of a collective voice with this exceptional group of colleagues to ensure we can continue to do what we all love to do while making a fair and reasonable wage.

A union would help us achieve a living wage and a voice at the table.

DEPUTY FOOD EDITOR, COOK’S ILLUSTRATED
13 YEARS AT ATK

Over my 13 years as a Cook’s Illustrated test cook, I’ve developed some of the brand’s most beloved recipes. In fact, six of the top 20 recipes voted viewers’ “favorite of all time” were my work. But because there’s no nonmanagerial pathway for advancement at ATK, I’ve been at the same pay grade for 8 years. Currently the only way for me to progress is to give up the recipe development work at which I excel and from which the company benefits enormously.

Management has always treated content creators as though we are disposable—when test cooks get fed up with the combination of heavy workload and low pay, the company replaces them with starry-eyed newcomers who are willing to work for less; inevitably the newcomers become disillusioned, leave, and the cycle continues. This pattern betrays a disregard for the skill, intelligence, experience, and effort that go into our work, even though the continued success of the company depends upon that work.

ATK has raked in record profits in the past two years, but most test cooks and editors still struggle to make ends meet. But more money for my low-paid coworkers isn’t enough; I want greater financial transparency and accountability overall, and I know a union will help to ensure that.

Our organizing effort has been a more powerful and positive affirmation of ATK’s core values of creativity and innovation, problem-solving, and teamwork than any management-led initiative I’ve seen in my years at the company. I’m confident that we’ll make ATK a business that benefits all of us.

4 YEARS AT ATK

I love my job and the people I work with and want to stay with ATK long-term. However, to do that I need appropriate compensation based on my experience and skills, the demands and responsibilities of my job, and the success of the company. I never expected to get rich working in food media, but here are some other things I didn't expect:

• to have to rely on secondary income to keep this job

• to have hundreds of dollars deducted for health insurance and then also have to pay thousands for any health care beyond basic checkups

• to be responsible for such a heavy workload that my actual hourly wages end up not far above Massachusetts minimum wage

• to be given additional workload when vacant positions go unfilled, with no additional compensation or understanding of why positions aren’t being filled

• to be told year after year that the company had record profits and that my performance was exemplary, but then to learn that my salary increase doesn’t even cover inflation

I believe that a union will give ATK nonmanagerial employees a louder, more unified voice in terms of achieving sustainable working conditions and making other company decisions that will allow retention of talented, dedicated people and will attract more of those people as well—an all-around win that helps ATK to continue to have even greater success in the future.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
3 YEARS AT ATK

I'm proud of the work my colleagues and I do. While the work itself is fulfilling, ATK doesn't fulfill the implicit bargain made between employer and employee: appropriate compensation for services provided. I worked a second job for most of my time at ATK to afford the privilege of working here. Working from 9 am–1 am three times a week is exhausting. Working 30 days in a row without a day off is unsustainable. Doing that and still questioning how you could afford a house, or the costs associated with a medical issue, or having kids is demoralizing. My starting salary of $35000 did not go far in Boston, which currently has the 3rd highest rent in the US. While minimum salary has increased, it's resulted in salary compression that undermines the experience and institutional knowledge of longtime employees.

Our union has made me feel heard, supported, and justified. Having a seat at the table ensures that our voices are heard, and our needs met. I love the work I do, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it. But in order for me to be able to stay here, I need the support and security that comes with our union, making ATK a truly great place to work.

2 YEARS AT ATK

I love the work I do and my coworkers are great. But I’m the only designer on my team, and the workload is enormous. I have not taken a vacation longer than a day because there is no one to cover my workload.

I hope a union would get fair representation to those of us not in manager positions. While my boss is supportive of me taking time off, there are no measures in place to aid when I do so—I simply delay work for as long as I’m out of the office.