The internal union battle is the latest high-profile instance of a liberal organization thrown into turmoil by the process of unionization as lower-level employees allege that managers’ progressive politics were more virtue-signaling than practiced.

Outwardly progressive companies, like Kickstarter, have found themselves on the defensive when employees began union organizing. Even Sanders’ presidential campaign was caught in an early, fractious fight with its union over some employee demands that they be paid the equivalent of the $15 minimum wage that Sanders was fighting for.

The fights have led to a smug chorus of “I told you so” from conservatives skeptical of both unions and pro-union rhetoric on the left. And they have been a source of embarrassment within the Democratic Party’s left wing, which just suffered defeat in the 2020 presidential primary.

“I’ve never said that a union is perfect under any circumstances and I’ve never said that a union is bad under all circumstances. I think they’re very very good under most circumstances,” Uygur said in an interview Friday morning. “And if the right wing or even now some of the left wing can’t do nuance and they think, ‘No, the world is black and white and a union is either perfect in every circumstance or a disaster in every circumstance,’ then honestly, they’re idiots and totally wrong, and that should be obvious [to] any rational human being.”

In another email Uygur sent to staffers before their vote began earlier this week, he again urged his employees to vote “no” — using arguments that several staffers characterized as typical anti-union talking points often deployed by Republicans.

“[T]here is no magic that creates more money by having a union, especially at a company that does not yet make a profit,” Uygur wrote. “One of the top concerns I have is that having a union will cost us too much money — and that will not only endanger the company but also leave less for all of us,” he wrote.

"In terms of the letters that I wrote, I meant every word of it. I don't mind it being public," Uygur said in the interview.

Three staffers involved in the union effort said they were baffled and disappointed by Uygur’s response since they went public with their union efforts in February. “We think the platform TYT provides for progressive voices is vital, we just want TYT to live by the values it promotes,” said one. The staffers requested anonymity because they said they feared retaliation from management.

The Young Turks Network is one of the largest unabashedly left-wing news operations in the U.S., with more than a dozen owned and operated partner shows. The network reports generating 200 million views a month and its signature program, The Young Turks, has over 4.7 million YouTube subscribers.

Late Thursday evening, after The Young Turks’ staffers’ votes had been tallied, 9 to 6 in favor of unionization, Uygur sent a much more conciliatory note to staffers.

“As you all know, I didn’t think it was a great idea under our circumstances but that is totally irrelevant now,” he wrote. “What’s most important is that we said we would respect their choice and of course we are.”

He added in an interview that "Our benefits our fantastic, our pay is good, so I don’t know what they are going to ask for but we’ll find out soon enough."

The employees organizing for a union wrote on Twitter, "We’re thrilled to now have a voice on the job at TYT!,”

The statements belie the contentious fight that goes back two years, when employees first approached IATSE officials. Some of the employees involved in that effort said they got gun-shy and ultimately backed off before renewing conversations again last fall.

When the staffers who were organizing formally announced themselves on February 12 ahead of a previously scheduled all-staff meeting, Uygur became emotional, threw papers to the ground and publicly chastised an employee, according to HuffPost.

Uygur also suggested that the union drive was part of an effort to undermine his recent campaign for Congress in California’s 25th District —in which the union had endorsed one of his Democratic opponents. Uygur finished fourth in the top-two primary on March 3. Uygur cited that dynamic as one of the "irregularities" when asked why he did not support card check.

Emails viewed by POLITICO, however, show that conversations between the staffers and IATSE date back to April of 2018, and they began scheduling a meeting with the union on Nov. 5, 2019, more than a week before Uygur declared his candidacy.

“Cenk thought it was a prank and made it about his campaign and not his workers,” said one staffer organizing for the union. “He couldn’t believe his workers wanted to unionize and that spoke to why we probably needed it.”

Said another: “Cenk immediately made it about himself and that it was a political coup or hit piece against him.”

After the HuffPost piece and another by In These Times, Uygur openly fretted about the damage to his reputation. “I don’t know where I go to get my reputation back,” Uygur wrote in one of his emails arguing against unionization sent last week. “Some portion of people will now forever know me as a union-buster, and much worse, as a boss who treats his employees poorly. So, if you wanted to do that damage, you already have.”

But some of the pro-union employees feel Uygur missed the point of the union drive by focusing on how it affected him.

"The email spends a lot of time accusing us of wanting to inflict maximum damage on Cenk, but we never wanted to damage him at all,” said one. “We just wanted a seat at the table to negotiate; any damage was self-inflicted."