Vox Media union pledges to strike as contract nears expiration.

The union that covers about 350 employees at Vox Media, the writer of internet sites together with Recode, Eater and SB Nation, mentioned on Wednesday that its members had signed a strike pledge as negotiations over a contract went right down to the wire.

The Vox Media Union’s contract expires at midnight on June 13. Union members mentioned the corporate had not but agreed to its proposals. A strike pledge means the members are able to strike if the union requires one if a deal can’t be reached.

Seth Rosenthal, a video producer for Secret Base, SB Nation’s YouTube channel, mentioned the union was looking for aggressive wage minimums, cost-of-living raises and reasonably priced advantages, in addition to measures to acknowledge employees’ longevity on the firm and a dedication to guard these proposals in case of a company sale or merger.

Mr. Rosenthal mentioned that in April 2020, early within the coronavirus pandemic, Vox Media had requested employees to surrender their contractual wage will increase for the 12 months however by no means compensated them for that later.

“Since then, Vox Media has expanded its enterprise and made a number of massive acquisitions, however our unit members haven’t been made entire for his or her sacrifice,” mentioned Mr. Rosenthal, a member of the union’s bargaining committee.

Lauren Starke, a Vox Media spokeswoman, mentioned in an electronic mail: “We’re actively engaged in bargaining, and, with bargaining scheduled on most days via the expiration of the contract, hope to succeed in a decision on the desk that we’re all happy with.”

Ms. Starke mentioned there was no annual pay improve in 2020 throughout your entire firm.

The negotiations are happening as client costs are rising at their quickest tempo in 4 many years and housing prices throughout the nation are climbing sooner than wages.

“Persons are getting priced out of their houses and experiencing monetary hardship as a result of their salaries are completely failing to maintain up with inflation,” mentioned Caitlin PenzeyMoog, a senior copy editor at Vox.com and a member of the bargaining committee.

The union, which shaped in 2018, covers editorial and video employees throughout Vox Media websites, together with Vox.com, SB Nation, Curbed, Eater, Polygon, Recode and The Verge.

It doesn’t embrace employees at New York journal, which the corporate additionally owns. That publication’s union agreed to its first contract with the corporate in January, after two and a half years of negotiations.