The sportswriters of Vox Media-owned SB Nation, are speaking out in a concerted effort to bring Vox to the negotiating table, according to reports.
Many of the liberal media company’s sportswriters have taken to Twitter in a coordinated campaign to publicly petition Vox CEO Jim Bankoff to see their union as a legitimate representative of the writers and make workplace concessions accordingly, The Big Lead reports.
Many of the sportswriters and other content creators also changed their photos to an image of the Vox Media logo with a banner reading “contract now” superimposed over it.
A look through Twitter for @Bankoff shows a number of writers complaining about their pay scale and urging Vox to issue raises:
sb nation in particular has driven so much of vox's success with a business model that's hardly worker friendly, to put it lightly. obviously it's time to change that.
— Natalie Weiner (@natalieweiner) June 5, 2019
Good morning to everyone, but especially @Bankoff 👋
My 4.5 years at @voxdotcom have been fantastic. I'd like to keep it that way.
I'm thankful and beyond proud of the @vox_union bargaining committee for their tireless work to secure us a fair contract!
— Lauren Katz (@Laur_Katz) June 5, 2019
I'm pregnant with my first child, but as a part-timer I don't qualify for parental leave, and taking an extended leave w/o pay isn't an option for my family. Having to come back almost immediately after giving birth would sting a little less with a fair annual raise and contract.
— Alexis Chassen (@Lovelybuckeye) June 5, 2019
hi @Bankoff, as i previously said in slack, i love sb nation and vox media. but it’s time for the company to show that it cares before we lose more intelligent people. we need a fair contract pic.twitter.com/i16R9OrEEZ
— Harry Lyles Jr. (@harrylylesjr) June 5, 2019
Me, when the company @bankoff portrays as an industry leader continually fails to be one when it comes to things like salary, severance, and other things necessary for a fair contract with @vox_union pic.twitter.com/Je3yK4lDsM
— Richard🇾Johnson (@RJ_Writes) June 5, 2019
Fair salary minimums.
Fair raises.
Fair severance pay.@Bankoff, work with @vox_union in getting us a fair contract now!— Michael Kist (@MichaelKistNFL) June 5, 2019
.@Bankoff: I love working at Vox. But when I started, I made just $30,000 a year in DC (a pretty expensive city). I don’t want anyone at Vox Media to go through that again. It’s time the company agree to a fair contract with @vox_union.
— German Lopez (@germanrlopez) June 5, 2019
The stories I’ve heard this week about my @vox_union colleagues and their struggles for fair pay are, frankly, very upsetting. We need @Bankoff and @voxmediainc to agree to a fair contract now.
— Meredith Haggerty (@manymanywords) June 5, 2019
For Vox to be the best place in media to work — and I think that is the goal for all of us — we need strong salary minimums and annual raises to erase our pay equity gaps and make all of our workers, especially women and people of color, feel valued@Bankoff @vox_union
— Dylan Scott (@dylanlscott) June 5, 2019
hi @Bankoff, here's the message I sent you
to reiterate:
– it took a long time with @voxmediainc to feel I could speak for my worth
– we should be a workplace that proactively looks after its own
– if not, we'll see a good culture erode, and talent continue to leave@vox_union pic.twitter.com/DE8pD5W5My— Louis Bien (@louisbien) June 5, 2019
.@Bankoff I love working here. What I don’t love is the fact that we’re being lowballed on both annual raises and severance
Contract. Now. @vox_union pic.twitter.com/5WGkVOtzhl
— Kofie (@KofieYeboah) June 5, 2019
hi @bankoff! the lack of fair salary minimums and zero transparency here at Vox have created huge inequalities among how ppl doing the same job are valued, and that’s why we need a fair @vox_union contract now. here’s one of many examples at vox dot com: https://t.co/WQKDs6HbcW
— Rebecca Jennings (@rebexxxxa) June 5, 2019
Naturally, there were charges of “racism,” as well:
.@bankoff A fun thing I have learned recently is that I am one of four black senior writers in all of @voxmediainc.
— Jane Coaston (@cjane87) June 5, 2019
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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