Fusion staffers vote to join union; The Root employees may be next

The editorial staff of Univision-owned digital news site Fusion voted overwhelmingly to join the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE).

According to WGAE, “over 90% of Fusion’s 70-member bargaining unit voted in favor of unionization,” despite the company’s efforts to dissuade employees from seeking collective bargaining representation.

The staffers voted online last Wednesday and Thursday – a week after the Fusion organizing committee threatened to “take action if an election date was not set for a union vote.” Results of the vote were released Friday.

Fusion Co-Presidents Boris Gartner and Daniel Eilemberg sent an email to staff acknowledging and accepting the results of the vote:

“Of 69 eligible voters, 62 voted: 57 voted in favor of representation and 5 voted against. We are pleased this process has now concluded with all relevant employees having had their say, much like it happened at Gizmodo Media Group, which is also represented by the WGA East.

We will continue to support all our incredibly talented staff, Guild and non-Guild, who are helping to drive and amplify important conversations every day.”

Fusion.net is the first Fusion Media Group (FMG) digital news site to unionize. When Univision acquired Gawker Media, it assumed the group’s existing WGAE union contract. So, within FMG, there were union and non-union editorial staffers.

Employees of another FMG digital property plan to follow suit – 100% of TheRoot.com’s editorial staff have signed union cards.

“We will now begin negotiating Fusion.net’s first collective bargaining agreement with the Fusion Media Group,” states WGAE rep Jason Gordon. About The Root’s employees he says they’re “waiting to hear back from management regarding voluntary recognition of the union.”