How newsroom unions intervene when members get laid off

Newsrooms have been unionizing at a rapid pace in the past decade, especially since the pandemic began. But amid the wave of recent layoffs in the media sector, what are all these new unions doing now to help the hundreds of people that have been let go?

Unions can’t stop layoffs from happening — union members were recently laid off at Bustle Digital Group, Vox Media and The Washington Post. But unions can negotiate with management to try to mitigate the impact of a layoff, and to include contract provisions that offer union members equitable severance packages.