Trade unions have successfully gained a presence at Vice Media; an up and coming New York online media empire. 430 writers and producers at the company have decided to join the writers guild of America (WGA) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG). Management and unions stated their willingness to commence wage negotiations before the end of the year. Efforts to introduce collective bargaining is essential. The traditionally well-unionized print media are losing ground and the internet ‘start-up’ newcomers tend to opt for direct discussions with management. This is why WGA and MPEG have been working for several years to demonstrate to the new names on the block including Huffpost, MTV News, Salon.com, the Guardian….,why unionizing makes sense.
In 2015 WGA convinced 70 Vice.com writers to join the union. This group has since secured pay rises of even up to 20%.
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