Staffers at MSNBC are forming a union.
New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum reported on Thursday that this union will represent about 315 workers at the 24/7 cable news network, including producers, bookers, writers, and fact checkers at the network.
He writes:
The MSNBC bargaining unit would be represented by the Writers Guild of America, East, which said that a clear majority of the network’s employees had signed a letter seeking voluntary recognition of a union. The Writers Guild represents many news and entertainment outlets, including ABC News and CBS News, whose involvement dates to the guild’s beginnings in 1954.
The Rachel Maddow Show segment producer Andrew Joyce has helped lead the organizing effort. He told the Times, “We as journalists believe that democracy works, as a nation, state, country, city, or in a workplace; things work better when policies are made with input from the people.”
In response to the news that a union is being formed, MSNBC president Rashida Jones told TVNewser in a statement: “We’re looking forward to continuing the type of direct, open and honest communication that has already resulted in meaningful change at the network.”