Gmg Union, Kotaku, Writers Guild Of America East discussed on Kinda Funny Games Daily
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
They're like, what's that? And I explained to him what it was and they were like, what really? Like once you know what it is, it's incredible, but I don't know how like if people are that. Obviously they throw the two week or the 30 day subscription card in with every box. But I feel like if they, once you know what it is, you can't say no to it, right? So Microsoft just needs to make sure that everyone knows what it is. Yeah, and they're trying to spread that good word, Gary. They're trying to get out and spread that good word as we speak. Number two in the roper report. Go media. That's how you say it, right? Or is it G slash? I heard a lot of people say go, right? Go media. Is on strike. Of course, this is the staffs of kotaku. Actually, I'll read from Steve and totila's tweet that went up about this and then we'll go to a variety article, but go media at the staffs of kotaku, gizmodo, Jalopnik. Jezebel lifehacker in the root have gone on strike, management failed to offer new contract as the old one expired last night, solidarity with everybody there. Again, that's Stephen totilo axios formally from kotaku. Kevin, I put the tweet there if you want to click on it and get that because it also then has a little layout graph of what's going on from the go media site. But we'll jump to Todd Spangler over at variety dot com who writes. Member of a union representing about 100 editorial staffs at go media publications, including jezebel the root life hacker kotaku, and gizmodo have gone on strike after its contract with the company expired Monday at midnight. Gizmodo media group union organized with the Writers Guild of America east unanimously approved the strike parentheses with 93% of members voting. After the union's second contract expired, February 28th. Members of the GMG union began picketing outside go media's offices. On Tuesday. In a statement, the GMG union said, quote, in 2015, this union broke new ground when it organized the first digital media union. Now GMG union will break ground yet again. We are the first digital media shop to go on in open and strike for a fair contract end quote. The GMG union said it has engaged in good faith negotiations with go media since late January. Quote, at every step, go media has slowed down the process with a lack of preparedness installing tactics it said. The union is asking go media to maintain its cap on healthcare costs, guarantee minimum wage increases, add trans inclusive health coverage, parentheses compliant with world professional association for transgender health guidelines and maintain Prudential leave benefits. The union comprises roughly 100 reporters, editors, artists, podcasters, social media specialists and videographers. In a memo sent Tuesday to go media staff CEO Jim spanfeller wrote that he was, quote, disappointed we can not come to terms on the current GMG union contract. We bargained good faith right up until the deadline late last night when the union voted to cut off talks and strike. Span feller claimed that the terms go media offered the union were quote not only equivalent to, but in some instances better than terms agreed to buy the onion union GMG's sister union here at go just one year ago. We are struggling to understand why terms agreed to by half the editorial union members last year are not acceptable to the other half now, span fellow wrote the memo. Unfortunately, efforts go media in an untenable position with regard to these current negotiations. Go media go media was formed in 2019 after Univision sold gizmodo media group and the onion to private equity firm, great hill partners and span feller. Who owns a minority stake in the company. Univision had in 2016 bought several assets of gawker media in a bankruptcy auction, which didn't include gawker dot com owned by bustle digital group. The union posted photos of the PICC line Tuesday on social media. Gary? You and I, of course, are both incredibly pro union. We want the people making our stuff to be taken care of. I think what I've read through Kevin still has an upgrade job cabin, then of course what we summarized here from what the union is looking for, especially the trans inclusive healthcare coverage and things of that nature. Sounds great and should be an easy win. And so obviously you might be like, all right, we spent a lot of time on something that isn't about video games, right? But it is about video game reporting. I do think we don't talk about it enough that, of course, out today is always pulled from Zach over kotaku. Zach zois over there goes out today on his thing every week this week in games. We pull it, we use it. We use it daily over here to make this show for you guys. Zack's been on the show and hosting the stuff and I know blessings talked about it before. But this is the kind of thing of like, if you like video game journalism stuff, you need to take care of the people making it. But at a broader stroke, where are you at with this union one? Greg, I'm a union man. I'm a proud member of the Writers Guild of America west. Which is actually not which is not the same as the Writers Guild of America east, which is affiliated with this strike action. But I'm not going to go on another rant. I've done it before. I'm a big union guy, come from the UK, which is a big union culture there. And unions are really important. They're going to be part of the backbone of our society in many ways and collective action collective bargaining is really the only way for the little guy to be protected against the kind of malpractice and exploitive employment practices that we see these major corporations and fucking like private equity. Private equity funds they can't be trusted to be a good custodians of media outlets or they're just commodities there. Or they care about is making money. That part of it's really depressing, but as much as you never want to see anyone on go out on strike because it's hard for it's hard for everyone, right when you're out on strike. But I've been on strike. I've been on a picket line. I remember when the Writers Guild strikes many years ago. And it's tough for everyone. You can't work. You can't make money. You know, a lot of people end up losing their jobs, you get scabs and picket line crosses and things like that. It's all very, very unpleasant. You only strike if you really need to. So I trust that this union didn't take the strike action lightly, striking is a weapon of last resort, but all of their asks sound perfectly reasonable. I wish them the best, and I hope I hope they hope they succeed in getting what they want..