Workers at Vox Media represented by the Writers Guild of America East have officially ratified their first union contract, and details of the agreement have now been publicly shared.
The 250-member unit voted unanimously to approve the three-year collective bargaining agreement, the union said Friday morning.
The WGA East had been fighting to bring all Vox Media workers across various verticals under one union contract, which they said the company had been resisting, prompting the talks to grow contentious. The two sides narrowly avoided a strike by securing a tentative deal just over two weeks ago — and it looks like the union got what it wanted.
Members working at PopSugar, The Dodo and Thrillist will be covered under this collective bargaining agreement. Those from Thrillist and The Dodo will also receive backpay from April 2024 and May 2024, respectively, per the 2024 Vox Media Union contract wage increases, the union said Friday.
The Vox Media Union also includes the editorial staff at Vox.com, The Verge, Eater, Punch, SB Nation, and Vox Media Podcast Network.
In a statement Friday, the negotiating committee said it is “so proud to have fought and won this contract that betters the lives of all of our members.”
In addition, the contract also secures protections against generative AI and use of digital replicas, as well as a newly designed layoff process that includes two weeks of paid non-working notice, plus a minimum of 12 weeks of severance.
See more of the contract details below.
- Guaranteed general wage increases:
- Year 1: 5% for salaries under $106K, 4% for salaries over $106k;
- Years 2 & 3: 3.25% for salaries under $106K, 2.75% for salaries over $106k;
- A new salary floor of $70,000 for overtime exempt employees and $68,000 for overtime eligible employees;
- Protections from Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI):
- No layoffs solely from the use or implementation of GAI;
- Any GAI generated material will go through standard editorial review processes, and the use of any GAI generated material will include the public disclosure of use of such tools;
- Reasonable advance notice of actual implementation of any new tool or system that will meaningfully impact employees;
- Employees may decline to be credited on any content where GAI was used;
- Protections against use of digital replicas;
- A new layoff process that will involve two weeks of paid non-working notice, plus a minimum of 12 weeks of severance;
- Maintains unlimited PTO policy, with the encouragement to take at least 25 days off per year (up from 20 days);
- 12 bereavement/pregnancy loss days (up from 10)
In addition to Vox Media, the WGA East also represents several other outlets via its Online Media Sector including the Bustle Digital Group, Civic News Group, CNET, Committee to Protect Journalists, Fast Company, Future PLC, Gizmodo Media Group, Hearst Magazines, HuffPost, Inc., Jewish Currents, NowThis, Onion Inc., Refinery29, Salon, Slate, Talking Points Media, The Dodo, The Intercept, Thrillist, and VICE.
Deadline parent company Penske Media Corporation has a stake in Vox Media.
