In labor news, journalists at outlets owned by G/O Media, including Gizmodo, The Root, and Jezebel, have gone on strike after failing to agree on a new contract. This is Murjani Rawls, staff writer at The Root and one of the strikers.
Murjani Rawls: “The GMG Union and its members are not on strike because we want to be. We firmly believe that the things that we’re fighting for in this new contract would greatly improve every creator’s life that works at G/O Media. That includes better wages, better healthcare, which also is inclusionary to our trans and nonbinary-identifying friends and staff, and also better work-from-home options. It’s 2022. Inflation is still high. The pandemic has changed the way we look at work.”
Meanwhile, workers at a New York City REI store have become the first in the United States to unionize, with 86% voting in favor of joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The successful vote comes after a sustained union-busting campaign from the outdoor sporting goods chain, which casts itself as a progressive employer focused on environmental sustainability.
And in more labor news, Major League Baseball is delaying the first two series of its season after failing to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association. It’s the first time MLB games have been called off due to a labor action since a player strike in 1994.