G/O Media Writers Go on Strike

[Demon_Skeith]

Roughly 100 writers and content producers at Jezebel, Gizmodo and other G/O Media websites went on strike Tuesday after the Gizmodo Media Group Union’s contract expired at midnight.

The newsroom workers for six sites, including The Root, Lifehacker, Kotaku, and Jalopnik, plan to picket outside G/O Media’s offices in New York City on Tuesday after talks broke down between the company and the Writers Guild of America East.

The union has been in negotiations for a month seeking to maintain its cap on health care costs and add WPATH-compliant Trans-inclusive health coverage, maintain parental leave, and secure guaranteed minimum wage increases.

In an email to G/O Media staff on Tuesday obtained by TheWrap, CEO Jim Spanfeller said he was “disappointed” that contract terms could not be reached before “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,” Spanfeller said. “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.”

He continued: “I am hopeful we will find a middle ground soon.”

source

 

[froggyboy604]

Hopefully, G/O Media Writers can get a fair wage after going on strike.

 

[Artisan Vistra]

I'm fine with this minimum wage and cap on health care costs. Those are things all workers should have and for a Union that makes sense as you even have to pay your share to the Union too. I'm sure the company is rich but I think the writers are pretty crazy to add more demands in on top of it, it might be hard to look for work but when you are getting minimum wage like I feel this could very well be an entry-level position and they could get away with not adding something just for the liberal minority. Could get bad press but anyone can receive that anyways.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I'm fine with this minimum wage and cap on health care costs. Those are things all workers should have and for a Union that makes sense as you even have to pay your share to the Union too. I'm sure the company is rich but I think the writers are pretty crazy to add more demands in on top of it, it might be hard to look for work but when you are getting minimum wage like I feel this could very well be an entry-level position and they could get away with not adding something just for the liberal minority. Could get bad press but anyone can receive that anyways.

Can always move onto higher paying jobs like past employees did.

 

[froggyboy604]

Can always move onto higher paying jobs like past employees did.

I think it can be risky moving to another job which is higher paying if the company is not as profitable or does not have a lot of readers.

Sometimes other news blog websites which pay more may have money problems, and end up laying off many of its writers. I think Yahoo and AOL fired a lot of workers because of money problems.

 

[Artisan Vistra]

Can always move onto higher paying jobs like past employees did.

But you'd still need to know somebody to get in.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

But you'd still need to know somebody to get in.

Most of the time but not always.

 

[Dead2009]

Half of those websites are toxic as hell so, I kinda dont feel bad for them being on strike,

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Looks like the strike is over and the writers won!

Half of those websites are toxic as hell so, I kinda dont feel bad for them being on strike,

Most of their stuff is junk, but they do have a good odd article here and there.

 

[froggyboy604]

It is nice that the Strike is over, and the writer's won. Hopefully, the writers will write some good posts in the future.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

It is nice that the Strike is over, and the writer's won. Hopefully, the writers will write some good posts in the future.

Paid more expected to write better.

 

[Artisan Vistra]

Paid more expected to write better.

Yeah but I think writing has always had its limits because of their predicted audience. If it's too complex no one will read and if it's too simple or short they will look elsewhere.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Yeah but I think writing has always had its limits because of their predicted audience. If it's too complex no one will read and if it's too simple or short they will look elsewhere.

there is always elsewhere when it comes to online content.

 

[froggyboy604]

Paid more expected to write better.

I expect the writers are expected to write more posts per day as well.

Hopefully, some of the writers use their pay increase on learning to write better by taking a writing course or buying a book on writing to improve their writing.