The Facebook notification popped onto her screen in April: an invitation to the editorial staff at Gawker Media to “a union meeting about you.” Anna Merlan, a 28-year-old reporter with six months on the job, stared at her laptop, startled.

A union? At a digital media outlet populated mostly by college-educated 20- and 30-somethings? Really?

Gawker’s new employees typically start at $40,000 to $50,000 a year and enjoy generous benefits, its workers say. Its tech-savvy employees came of age in the new economy — about 40 percent rarely, if ever, set foot inside the company’s brick-and-mortar headquarters in Manhattan — and even the office workers often spend the first few hours of their workdays at home, reporting on media and culture, gossip and cars, technology and celebrities from the comfort of their couches.

Which brings us back to Ms. Merlan, sitting in her apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, considering that unexpected invitation. Her first reaction? Surprise. And then?