CHICAGO, Ill.—The Onion has a union contract. The creative staff at the humor publication and its sister sites, including The A/V Club and Clickhole, overwhelmingly ratified their first collective bargaining agreement, the Writers Guild of America, East announced Dec. 20.
The two-year agreement, the union said, covers 69 employees and includes annual pay increases, minimum pay grades, strong diversity and anti-harassment language, editorial independence, and intellectual property rights. It also says workers can only be fired for just cause, and that the company must offer freelancers a full-time job if they work there for 12 consecutive months or 18 cumulative months in 24 months. “We’re elated to have reached a first union contract for the members at Onion Inc.” the Onion Inc. Union said in a statement. “In addition to the gains made in our contract, we experienced immediate workplace improvements while organizing, including increased interdepartmental communication and a gender pay parity analysis.” The video, editorial, social and content acquisition staffs at the animal-oriented Website The Dodo, who voted to join the WGAE in May, also ratified their first contract, the union announced Dec. 19.
Read more: https://www.wgaeast.org/onion-
