FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 11, 2025
Media Contacts:
Dylan Manshack, Comms, WBNG — dmanshack@wbng.org, 202-445-4033
PEN Guild — politicoeenewsguild@gmail.com
PEN Guild Heads to Arbitration Today Over POLITICO’s AI Violations
WASHINGTON — Unionized journalists at POLITICO and E&E News will head to arbitration today in a consequential legal dispute over artificial intelligence. The hearing will determine whether POLITICO violated key protections around AI use that were secured in the PEN Guild’s first collective bargaining agreement—one of the first union contracts in the media industry to include enforceable rules for AI.
Today’s hearing marks the beginning of a precedent-setting fight over how AI can be implemented in unionized newsrooms. With no federal standards in place, union contracts are key to protecting journalism from unaccountable AI use by employers.
“This is one of the first major tests of enforceable AI protections in a newsroom,” said Arianna Skibell, Vice Chair of Contract Enforcement at PEN Guild. “We’re fighting not just for our contract, but for the future of ethical journalism in the age of AI.”
Last year, PEN Guild members ratified a first contract that required management to bargain over new AI tools and ensure any AI-generated content meets the same ethical and editorial standards as human reporting. The union alleges POLITICO violated these provisions twice:
- AI-generated live coverage of major political events, including the 2024 Democratic National Convention and the vice presidential debate, was published without required union notice or human review. One summary used language barred by the newsroom’s Stylebook (“criminal migrants”) and misattributed political actions. These errors were quietly removed, bypassing standard editorial correction protocols.
- A “Report Builder” tool, developed in partnership with CapitolAI, went live in March to generate branded policy reports for subscribers. The AI has produced major factual errors, including claims that Roe v. Wade remains law and fabricating lobbying causes of nonexistent groups.
After management failed to resolve formal grievances over these actions, the Guild escalated the dispute to arbitration.
“This arbitration is about protecting our contract, our standards, and our readers,” said Ariel Wittenberg, Unit Chair of PEN Guild. “We’re not anti-AI, but AI must serve journalism, not undermine it.”
The PEN Guild has launched a petition and released a video featuring members discussing what’s at stake. Supporters are encouraged to sign the petition and share the video on social media.
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About the PEN Guild
The POLITICO and E&E News (PEN) Guild represents over 270 journalists across POLITICO and E&E News. Formed in 2021, the PEN Guild is part of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 of The NewsGuild-CWA. The unit ratified its first contract in 2024, securing significant wins including strong AI protections, guaranteed raises, improved salary floors, paid parental leave, fertility and IVF coverage, comp time and overtime guarantees, and key safeguards for equitable and ethical journalism.