America’s top labor leader is asking Salon to voluntarily recognize the Writers Guild of America, East as bargaining agent for its editorial workers.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote Salon Media Group CEO Cindy Jeffers on Thursday, requesting Salon voluntarily recognizes the union and not force a formal representation election.
Most of the staff has signed up with the union, which is the same one that won a recent representation election at Gawker Media. Gawker is now in the earliest stages of a process that will prompt negotiations over a first contract.
If the company does not voluntarily recognize the union, it would trigger a traditional representation election, such as the one held at Gawker Media. The vote would be supervised by either the National Labor Relations Board or perhaps a third party mediator agreed to by both sides.
Trumka’s letter repeated portions of an initial statement released by workers when they announced their hooking up with the Writers Guild.
He reiterated that it “will solidify Salon’s position as a progressive leader, generate tremendous employee goodwill, and transform the workplace environment in positive ways.”
A request for a company response was forwarded to a public relations firm.
