#are unionized and the minimum salary is $45k….

[boydykepdf]

the highs & lows of the admission email i just got from a uni being like “hey ur one of only eight students we admitted to the graduate school!! we really want you!! there were 200 applicants and we chose YOU!!!! so we are offering you $24k/year to live in a city where you will be paying bare minimum $1k/month for rent. & that’s if you want to live in a shoebox 😘”

[cricketwrangler]

This is what was on the HarperCollins union strike page, a contract from 2018. Their highest level employees were expected to be paid 46k by 2020 October. I was only skimming and didn't find if this has been updated since, although an article from earlier this year (after the initial one day strike) said they were pushing from a minimum salary of 45k to be 50k.

But like 50k. That's what they're having to strike to make (as well as other demands but just for the point.) For an intense full time job.

[nearmidnightannex]

GMG Union wins! ... I hope.

GMG Union won. (gmgunion.com)

After four days of picketing in the first open-ended strike by a digital media shop, G/O Media management has acknowledged the strength and demands of our members. The members of GMG Union have reached a tentative deal with management, pending a ratification vote by members[...]

[...] What we won:

Higher salary minimums for all positions, including $62,000 at the lowest tier in 2022 (up from $55,000), with an additional $1,000 each year for the life of the contract

Guaranteed 3% annual raises for all unit members

15 weeks parental leave

12 weeks minimum severance

Maintained our current cost-sharing cap for healthcare

WPATH-compliant, trans-inclusive healthcare

Defeated management’s proposal to give up bargaining rights over changes to healthcare mid-contract

45K diversity effort budget with audit and transparency

Goal of 40% of candidates at the hiring manager interview stage from underrepresented backgrounds

Retained right to publicly speak about working conditions, including social media escalation campaigns

Strengthened editorial independence language; management must now adhere to both G/O Media's editorial policy and the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics

Obtained guarantees against forced relocation for current remote staff

I’m glad they were able to get these concessions from management. Seriously, I missed The Root during the past few weeks.

But ... these concessions are so comprehensive, it makes me wonder what’s up. I mean ... these are a LOT, especially for a company as ... emphatic about its positions, let’s say, as G/O Media seems to be. I mean, the last time these issues, or anything like them, came up, the entire staff of Deadspin resigned. 

So why did they cave here? It can’t be that they thought that the union was in the right. I mean, they were, but that’s not the issue. It’s probably not the bad publicity-- honestly, there wasn’t that much of it, but maybe it was bad in all the right places. So what happened to make them concede? (Also, I will note that nowhere in any of the PR materials I’ve seen has “the life of the contract” been stated -- three years? five? What? That might be an interesting point to see.)

I’m glad for the writers that they were able to get a much more fair contract ... but I really can’t help but wonder why.