This article is reprinted from the website of The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003.
Feb. 1, 2019 – After a card check conducted by the American Arbitration Association on Wednesday, editorial employees of New York Magazine were certified to be represented by the NewsGuild of New York/CWA Local 31003.
The bargaining unit consists of approximately 180 full- and part-time editorial staffers, comprising the print and web staff of New York Media and all of its respective verticals — Vulture, the Cut, Intelligencer, Grub Street, and the Strategist.
After going public with their union drive on Dec. 12, NewsGuild staff and Organizing Committee members engaged in several weeks of negotiations over the scope of the union’s bargaining unit. Attorneys representing management were adamant that nearly two dozen employees be excluded from the unit based on their alleged status as managers or supervisors, which the Guild rejected. After pushing for and winning the Guild’s proposed unit, the Organizing Committee came to an agreement with management over voluntary recognition of the union.
The staff is eager to begin negotiations with New York Magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief, David Haskell, who was named Adam Moss’s successor on January 16, 2019. He has expressed his support for the staff’s union both within the newsroom and publicly.
New York Magazine Organizing Committee released the following statement on their recognition:
“We are proud to announce that New York Media has recognized the New York Magazine Union, which is supported by an overwhelming majority of the editorial staff. After weeks of negotiations, we fought for, and won, a unit that includes all of our eligible editorial colleagues. Now that our union is official, we are very excited to begin the next steps of this process and move on to collective bargaining. We are proud of what we have all accomplished together and thankful for the commitment of our co-workers to making this an even better, stronger, and more equitable workplace. We are reminded every day of the important role that journalism plays in society, and we look forward to doing our part to secure its future.”
More information about the campaign can be found at nymagunion.org.