The staffers of Hearst Magazines, print and digital, have voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America East.
The union organizing committee tweeted the news.
[embed]https://twitter.com/HearstUnion/status/1288631390016278529[/embed]
Those magazines include TV-related titles Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine and O The Oprah Magazine, which just announced it is going all-digital.
The WGAE bargaining unit will comprise 500 staffers from those and 25 other digital/print brands including Marie Claire, Road & Track, Seventeen and Woman's Wear Daily.
The vote was administered by the National Labor Relations Board, which directed that there be a single election after Hearst had pushed for a number of separate bargaining units.
The staffers are looking for a contract that deals with "diversity, transparency, compensation and editorial standards," said WGAE.
“Hearst is not just about a storied brand, it’s about the hard work of the people who are involved with writing, editing, and producing the stories that educate and inspire and delight readers and viewers," said WGAE executive director Lowell Peterson. "These employees have voted overwhelmingly to join with the Writers Guild of America, East to bargain collectively over the terms and conditions of their employment, to make their voices heard in the workplace, to ensure that their needs and interests and priorities are addressed. We welcome them to our community of creative professionals, and we look forward to working together to demonstrate, again, that collective bargaining works.”
“We’ve been listening to our editorial teams’ aspirations for the company and will continue to address and act on them," said a Hearst Magazines spokesperson. "Now, it’s time to forge a path forward together, to maintain Hearst Magazines’ focus on innovation and long tradition of creating highly informative, engaging content. We remain committed to providing an equitable work environment that embraces diversity, transparency, fair compensation and best-in-class editorial standards.”
