Production assistants working on CBS's upcoming legal drama Cupertino have unanimously voted to unionise with LiUNA Local 724, marking the first successful union election for the Production Assistants United movement at a CBS Studios production. The result is significant because it extends a wave of organising among production assistants, an often early-career and low-paid workforce, beyond the Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television shows where the movement has previously notched up its wins.

The National Labor Relations Board election, which concluded on Wednesday, saw 13 of 25 eligible production assistants vote in favour, with three ballots challenged. Cupertino, created by Robert and Michelle King and starring Mike Colter, follows a former start-up lawyer who opens a firm to take on tech giants; despite its Silicon Valley setting, the show is filming its first season in New Jersey. The union's next step is to negotiate a first contract with CBS Studios, with past agreements at other productions having secured health coverage, minimum pay rates, holiday provisions and career-pathway committees for production assistants. CBS Studios has not yet commented.