Editorial Workers at Insider Win Union Vote 241 - 14

The NewsGuild of New York wins landslide election as the bargaining representative of more than 300 employees 

New York — Editorial employees of Insider overwhelmingly voted 241-14 to be represented by 

The NewsGuild of New York, TNG-CWA Local 31003 in a National Labor Relations Board
election that concluded on today.  

The more than 300-person bargaining unit includes reporters, web editors, producers, video editors, social media producers, animators, photographers, designers, and copy editors. 

The Insider Union announced publicly 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 and contract wins in media across the country, including The Atlantic, The New York Daily News and The Bergen Record. The NewsGuild recently approved a historic contract with Condé Nast that included just cause protections and significant wage increases.

"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 editor at Insider.

"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 at Insider.

“Today’s vote is a resounding declaration by Insider editorial workers of their commitment to gain a voice in their newsroom. It is an incredible accomplishment and I am proud to officially welcome them to the Guild,” 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.” 

The full mission statement of the Insider Union is below: 

Insider is a transformational force in digital journalism. It’s a place where journalists can do their best work. It’s a place that fights to make journalism a sustainable business. And it’s a place that proves the news can be fair and accurate while also being fun and fearless.

We, the Insider editorial staff, are forming a union with the NewsGuild of New York to secure what we’ve built and strengthen it.

Insider is built by our world-class team of reporters, web editors, producers, video editors, social media producers, animators, photographers, designers, and copy editors. We want a contract that fully respects the work of all our staff and gives us a greater voice at our company.

A union contract will do that and more, helping us get better every day.

Our management has guided us safely through a roiling industry. We’ve seen tremendous growth, especially following Axel Springer’s acquisition in 2015, which has pushed us to heights that would have seemed impossible to the first Insider employees writing quick blogs in a Manhattan loading dock.

We seek to ensure the company keeps the promises it’s already made and to build on them. We want accountability and transparency from management regarding employee demographics and salary gaps; a deliberate and permanent effort to hire more BIPOC and LGBTQ+ employees and pay them appropriately; more resources and funding for DEI-centered verticals like Voices of Color and Out Insider; greater support and flexibility for parents and other caregivers; a metrics system that is reasonably and fairly applied across the company; and a more robust and effective way for employees to voice concerns about our work environment.

Insider aims to be the leading publication of the digital generation, and the NewsGuild will get us closer to that goal. The Guild has a strong track record with publications like the New York Times, Reuters, The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed News, NBC News Digital, and dozens of other digital media organizations.

We’ve organized one of the largest digital media union drives in history with the NewsGuild during a pandemic because we love the work we do. We ask that the company follow the lead of its peers in the media industry and voluntarily recognize us so that we can move to the bargaining table and work together to build a better Insider.

Follow: @InsiderUnion   https://www.insiderunion.org/ 

ABOUT THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK

The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, is a labor union representing nearly 4,000 media professionals and other employees at New York area news organizations, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Thomson Reuters, The Nation, BuzzFeed News, TIME, PEOPLE, Wirecutter, and The Daily Beast. The NewsGuild of New York advocates for journalists to have a voice in the newsroom, for press freedom, for inclusive and diverse workplaces, and for just cause, no exceptions, for all media professionals.