DOTDASH MEREDITH UNION WINS CONTRACTS

NEW YORK – Unionized editorial workers, represented by The NewsGuild of New York, at People, People video, Entertainment Weekly and Martha Stewart Living have reached contract agreements with Dotdash Meredith in a joint deal that, among other things, lifts the average union worker’s pay immediately by an average of 15%. 

“We’ve been in fight mode since 2020, when we began organizing some of our brands besides People print. We’ve withstood layoffs, COVID lockdown, deaths, departures, debt, and all-around bad behavior from the company nearly every step of the way,” said Gabrielle Danchick, a copy editor at People and a member of the Guild bargaining committee. “It’s a relief to finally flip the fight-mode switch off and take a breather as the company does the right thing. Because of our collective resolve and refusal to back down, we have a strong legally binding agreement that gives us the protections we need and the kind of pay that will make a huge difference in so many lives.”

The three-year deal will cover approximately 160 workers represented by the Dotdash Meredith Union. They had been fighting for new contracts since 2021 — first contracts in all the bargaining units except People print, which was bargaining for a successor contract.

Union members voted to ratify the contracts on Monday.  

Highlights of the contracts include:

Pay

• The lowest-paid current bargaining unit members to get immediate increase to $30.63/hour (average immediate increase of 28%) 
• Guaranteed 3% raises in 2024, 2025, and 2026 
• $1.6 million in lump-sum retroactive-pay increases
• Average pay increase for employees at ratification of nearly 15% (21.81% over the life of the deal)
• $1,500 signing bonus

Workers’ protections 

• Reinstitution of recall rights after layoffs and preservation of generous severance pay plan for longtimers
• Just cause, no exceptions, which sets strict standards for discipline and termination 
• Limitations on the abusive practice of long-term permalance/freelance employment
• New controls on employee costs for medical plan premiums
• 35-hour workweek with new protections against overwork
• Protected benefit-plan eligibility for part-timers on staff
• Protected holiday-pay premium and night-shift differential for hourly employees

The deal did not come easy. Members staged a rally and practice picket at Dotdash Meredith headquarters on Feb. 7 and marched on CEO Neil Vogel on April 18, all to show management their seriousness when it came to getting the contracts across the finish line. The Guild also filed numerous unfair labor practice charges against the publisher over skipped raise increases, anti-union activity in hiring, and unlawfully imposed requirements to return to office that resulted in a complaint being issued by Region 2 of the NLRB in October 2023. Those were resolved as part of the overall settlement. 

“These contracts set a new standard for our members at Dotdash Meredith,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York. “It’s why we do what we do as a union: We fight as one and win contracts that change our members' lives.”