The NewsGuild of New York wins election as bargaining representative of more than 300 employees.
Editorial employees of Insider voted 241-14 to be represented by The NewsGuild of New York Local 31003 in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board that concluded on Monday.
The bargaining unit of more than 300 digital journalists includes reporters, web editors, producers, video editors, social media producers, animators, photographers, designers and copy editors.
The Insider Union announced on April 19 that more than 80% of the editorial staff had signed union authorization cards and requested voluntary recognition from Insider management. The company refused to recognize the union, prompting The NewsGuild to file for an election with the National Labor Relations Board on May 10. The editorial staff voted in a mail-ballot election from May 24 to June 8.
Insider is the latest newsroom to join dozens of successful organizing drives in media across the country, including at The Atlantic, Southern California News Group and Kansas City Star. The NewsGuild recently approved a historic contract with Condé Nast and reached tentative agreements were week with management at Ziff Davis, which publishes AskMen, PCMag, and Mashable, and with Quartz.
“We’ve been organizing and fighting for over a year now. We’re ready to win this election and celebrate with our unit — and then get back to business at the bargaining table,” said William Antonelli, an Insider editor.
“We have an incredibly strong, dedicated union of journalists at Insider, and we’ve worked hard to reach this day,” said Rebecca Ungarino, a senior reporter.
“Congratulations to everyone at Insider for joining the fight for pay equity, more transparency and accountability, better benefits and improved working conditions!” said NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss. “These journalists have so many great ideas to make Insider a better workplace that can produce even more exceptional digital reporting.”
“I am proud to officially welcome Insider editorial workers to the Guild and to support their efforts to gain a voice in their newsroom,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. “We have seen time and again that media workers win significant improvements to their working conditions when they come together and bargain collectively. I call on Insider management to work with our bargaining committee in good faith to come to the table and negotiate a fair contract.”
Follow the group on Twitter @InsiderUnion or visit their website, InsiderUnion.org.