UPDATED with G/O Media CEO’s note to staff at bottom: Nearly 100 WGA East-represented newsroom staffers have gone on strike against the Gizmodo Media Group’s digital news sites – Gizmodo, Jezebel, The Root, Lifehacker, Kotaku and Jalopnik. Picket lines went up outside the parent company’s offices in New York City on Tuesday morning in what organizers are calling “the first digital media shop to go on an open-ended strike for a fair contract.”
“The people who create content for GMG are striking for basic benefits and protections,” said Lowell Peterson, the guild’s executive director. “We have picket lines in place – both physical and digital. This is now struck work.”
The walkout began after the union’s second contract with GMG expired Monday at midnight. The WGA East Council voted unanimously to approve the action. Striking staffers include reporters, editors, artists, podcasters, social media specialists and videographers.
‘Nailed It!’ Crew Goes On Strike Against Magical Elves To Win IATSE Contract For Netflix Series
The guild, which has been in negotiations with the company since late January, said that “At every step, G/O Media has slowed down the process with a lack of preparedness and stalling tactics. The union has very clear asks of G/O Media: maintain its cap on healthcare costs and add WPATH-compliant Trans-inclusive health coverage, maintain parental leave, and secure guaranteed minimum wage increases.”
In a statement, the strikers said: “In 2015, this union broke new ground when it organized the first digital media union. Now, GMG Union will break ground yet again: We are the first digital media shop to go on an open-ended strike for a fair contract. We didn’t make this decision lightly. After more than a month of bargaining, our shop of workers from Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Kotaku, Lifehacker, and The Root voted 100% in favor of a strike, with 93% of members voting. We’re fighting for a say in our benefits, WPATH-compliant healthcare offerings, remote work, and equitable salary minimums to match unprecedented financial times. We hope to see our industry colleagues join us on the picket line in New York City. Our fight is your fight.”
In a memo to his staff Tuesday, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller said he is hopeful that an agreement with the union can be reached soon:
“On behalf of the entire leadership team at G/O Media, I am disappointed we could not come to terms on the current GMG Union contract. We bargained in good faith right up until the deadline late last night when the Union voted to cut off talks and strike. To be clear, the terms we offered the GMG Union were not only equivalent to, but in some instances better than, terms agreed to by The Onion Union (GMG’s sister union here at G/O) just one year ago. We are struggling to understand why terms agreed to by half the editorial union members last year are not acceptable to the other half now. Unfortunately, that puts G/O Media in an untenable position with regard to these current negotiations.
“Disagreements between unions and management are nothing new, and I am hopeful we will find a middle ground soon. We invite the GMG Union to return to the bargaining table so that we may reach a deal that satisfies its members while enabling G/O to operate profitably. The simple truth is that my role, along with my colleagues in the leadership of G/O, is to balance the needs of all our employees with the needs of the business, to set us all up for success, not just those in the GMG Union. Fortunately, our contract with The Onion established a workable framework for that success, so I know it is achievable.”
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.