Mayor de Blasio; 24 City Officials Call for Voluntary Recognition of Gothamist/DNAinfo Union

NEW YORK, NY (May 21, 2017) – New York City’s top elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, today sent a letter to Gothamist/DNAinfo’s management urging them to voluntarily recognize their editorial staff’s decision to unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).

On April 12th, the editorial staffs at the recently merged Gothamist and DNAinfo announced plans to unionize after a majority of their 26-member editorial staff signed cards declaring the WGAE as their representative in collective bargaining.

Management’s refusal to recognize the union prompted City Officials to come out and support writers who hold them accountable. Mayor de Blasio signed the letter along with other top New York City politicians, including Public Advocate Letitia James, City Controller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and 20 City Council members.

The letter states, “We support the editorial staff of DNAinfo and Gothamist as they exercise their right to unionize. The work of these reporters and editors is crucial for NYC. We call on management to respect their democratic right to organize and immediately recognize their union.”

Lowell Peterson, Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America, East, added “The editorial employees at DNAinfo/Gothamist have already decided to unionize with the WGAE. They reached this decision in an intelligent, deliberative way. The decision rests with them, not with management. We join the many elected officials who call upon the company to respect the employees’ rights and to recognize the union. Recognizing the employees’ democratic determination to unionize simply establishes a further conversation about the workplace – an informed, rational negotiation about the terms and conditions of employment.”

In addition to Gothamist and DNAinfo, the Writers Guild of America, East represents staffs at The Intercept, The Huffington Post, VICE, Gizmodo Media Group (Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Kotaku, io9, Jalopnik, Fusion, The Root), ThinkProgress, MTV News, Thrillist, Salon and Slate.

A PDF of the letter can be found here.

ABOUT WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, EAST

The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media and broadcast news. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit wgaeast.org.

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