The popular progressive news outlet Salon Media Group is reportedly still refusing to recognize the union its employees voted for last month – despite being a huge advocate for unions.
The refusal came Thursday after editorial staffers rejected a counter-offer from management. According to sources for International Business Times, workers did not take the counter offer seriously. The editorial staff has cited other news outlets, like Gawker, in its decision to join the Writers Guild of America, East.
“As the surprising example set by the management and editorial staff of Gawker has made clear, the process of collective bargaining can commit management, editors and writers to work together in a new way,” editorial staffers wrote back on July 2. “That’s a critically important first step, and we are here to make it together.”
Even at the time there was some concern management would not recognize the union. This despite Salon being a regular supporter of unions. Salon has also been hyper critical of Republican presidential candidate Gov. Scott Walker who is often pegged as anti-union.
“Our employees are very important to us, and we are carefully considering their request.” Salon CEO Cindy Jeffers told IBTimes before his editorial staff rejected the counter-offer.
Media outlets unionizing has become a growing trend in the last year. Those like Politico labor reporter Mike Elk have been very much supporting the movement. Nevertheless, Salon is not the first progressive media outlet to snub unionization.
“The actions of Media Matters executives have placed employees in the impossible position of continuing to produce content espousing pro-labor values for an employer who is challenging our right to unionize,” the Local 500 of the Service Employees International Union said last year. “The actions of their attorneys indicate Media Matters executives object so tenaciously to our union that they appear willing to prevent employees from ever having the opportunity to vote on the matter.”
Salon did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
This report, by Connor D. Wolf, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
