Less than two months after declaring their intention to unionize, employees at Vox Media, including SB Nation staffers, have obtained recognition from company management.
The Vox Media Union tweeted Thursday morning that it will now “have a seat at the table to advocate for the needs and priorities of creative staff.”
“Though it’s taken some time, we’re glad that Vox Media has lived up to its stated values and respected the wishes of its employees,” the union’s organizing committee wrote in a statement.
We have good news. #voxunion pic.twitter.com/DS5jGwbiYM
— Vox Media Union (@vox_union) January 11, 2018
When Vox employees first announced their plans to unionize, they stated their desire for consistency in titles, raises and bonuses; increased transparency; greater diversity and input in major decisions.
“A Vox Media union will give us the means to maintain everything we love about working for this company, and to have a collective voice when we address anything that may change or founder,” they wrote. “We look forward to bringing Vox Media employees together as an organized unit, and bringing that unit closer to management at the bargaining table and beyond.”
On Thursday, several SB Nation writers were among the Vox employees to celebrate recognition of the union.
GOOD MORNING TO EVERYBODY BUT ESPECIALLY THE VOX UNIONhttps://t.co/lXoqdIRVYy
— Matt Brown (@MattSBN) January 11, 2018
I am so glad to wake up to good news for once #solidarityforever https://t.co/ETsZZ4frXy
— Marc Normandin? (@Marc_Normandin) January 11, 2018
The @vox_union won recognition late Wednesday because a lot of people who care about each other and their jobs insisted we needed it. Excited to get to work.
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) January 11, 2018
Though SB Nation, as one of Vox’s eight brands, is included in the union, writers at the site’s numerous team-specific sites are not. Members of the union have stated their desire to advocate for team-site writers, who generate much of SB Nation’s traffic but receive only small stipends or no payment at all. An ex-site manager is currently suing Vox Media, claiming she was an employee and should have been compensated as one.
