Huffington Post Editorial Staff Votes 169-3 to Join Union

The Huffington Post editorial staff, which voted to unionize almost a year ago, approved its first collective-bargaining contract that will cover more than 200 employees. The vote was 169 to 3.

Along with a minimum three-percent yearly pay increase over the next three years, the contract guarantees editorial independence and prevents editorial staffers from working on native advertisement that is paid for by a sponsor or advertiser, reported the New York Post.

"Our editorial and video staff have been instrumental in making The Huffington Post the groundbreaking news platform it is today and they are among our greatest assets," said Huffington Post chief executive Jared Grusd.

"We are very pleased to have worked collaboratively with the (Writers Guild of American, East) to have reached this agreement. We remain committed to providing growth opportunities for all of our talented and dedicated editorial and video staff to ensure The Huffington Post is the leading digital platform for news and information."

The Post said the Writers Guild of America, East has also worked with the staff of other digital platforms like Vice, Gizmodo Media Group (formerly Gawker), Salon, Fusion, The Root, and ThinkProgress.

"This landmark agreement demonstrates that collective bargaining works," said Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. "Our large and engaged negotiating committee worked tirelessly to communicate the real concerns of WGAE-represented employees, and the company's bargaining team was respectful and responsive.

"We are building a strong movement of digital journalists in perilous times. The writers, editors, and producers at The Huffington Post have achieved real gains by unionizing, and there are now 500 digital journalists covered by WGAE-negotiated contracts," Peterson added.

The Post said the Huffington Post contract establishes a minimum pay base of $50,000 for the lowest-paid editorial reporters and $16-an-hour pay for comment moderators. The guild statement added that the new minimums and title adjustments will increase the pay of some employees from $10,000 to $20,000 over the life of the agreement.