Journalists and other content producers at WHYY have voted to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, a union that represents more than 160,000 media workers, including those at NPR and other public media stations.
The vote, tallied Wednesday evening, was 70-1, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We’re thrilled by our strong showing,” the union said in a statement. “We look forward to beginning a democratic process to hear from our members about what they would value most from a contract with management.”
Now that the union is official, the next step is negotiating the first collective bargaining agreement, the contract for the entire union. It’s an important period as it sets the stage for future contracts and the relationship between the union and management.
“It’s an important outcome,” CEO Bill Marrazzo said of the vote, “but it isn’t going to change our commitment to ensuring that we continue to grow WHYY and do so in a way where we can reach more and more people in the Delaware Valley.”
He said he was not concerned about any changes that the formation of a union might bring to the station. “WHYY,” he said, “is not for or against organized labor and we respect our employees’ right to seek unionization.”
Earlier this month, WHYY workers went public with their intent to unionize, citing “untenable working conditions” that they say have led to high turnover at one of the only growing local media outlets in the region.
Representatives of the WHYY union declined to elaborate on reasons for unionizing, saying that they preferred to discuss the issues while negotiating their first contract. But media workers across the country have said they unionized to fight for pay equity, benefits like paid parental leave, and other job protections in an industry rife with layoffs and consolidation.
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