WGA East members at HuffPost ratify fourth union contract

NEW YORK — Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at HuffPost and management reached a deal on their fourth three-year collective bargaining agreement. The contract was unanimously ratified by the 69-member bargaining unit.

The contract establishes critical protections against Artificial Intelligence (AI), including guaranteeing human review of all content published (e.g., AI-generated story summaries) and advanced notice of implementation of new AI tools. AI cannot be used to impersonate employees without their consent, and unit members are guaranteed an additional three weeks of severance if AI is a direct cause of layoffs. The company has also agreed to maintain a standards desk AI policy and an AI working group with unit members to discuss use of AI at HuffPost.

Other contract highlights include:

• 3% annual general wage increases and 3% annual increase to salary minimums, raising the lowest salary minimum to $76,488.70 over the life of the contract.
• Codified parental leave (14 weeks + four weeks of transitional time).
• Codified unlimited sick leave, won language that sick leave can be used for mental health.
• Protected severance language that guarantees 30-day notice and two months’ minimum severance pay plus one week per year of service.
• Codified that fixed-term (temporary) employees will be in-unit.
• Protected hard-fought language that supports a diverse, safe and representative newsroom.
• Increased budgets to ensure commitment to professional development conferences and newsroom trainings.

The HuffPost Union bargaining committee said, “HuffPost Union is incredibly proud of our fourth contract. We stood firm in protecting safeguards that support a diverse and representative newsroom. We did not let industry uncertainty around technology stop us from securing AI protections. We refused to sell out future workers for short-term promises. And we were able to do this because 100% of our members were unified about what the contract we deserved looked like, and what we were willing to do to secure it.”

Sara David, vice president of the WGAE’s Online Media Sector said, “HuffPost Union has been building power since they won recognition a decade ago, and this contract is a testament to what happens when members refuse to compromise on what matters. We’re proud to see the sector continue setting the standard for proactive AI protections in an industry that’s continually evolving.”

HuffPost won union recognition in January 2016 and ratified its first collective bargaining agreement in January 2017.

In addition to HuffPost, the WGA East’s Online Media Sector includes the Bustle Digital Group, Civic News Group, Committee to Protect Journalists, Fast Company & Inc., Financial Times Specialists, Future PLC, Gizmodo Media USA, Jalopnik at Static Media, Hearst Magazines, Inc., Jewish Currents, NowThis, Onion Inc., Salon, Slate, Talking Points Memo,  The Intercept, The Root, Vox Media and VICE.

About the Writers Guild of America East:

The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO, is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org.