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Gawker website employees vote to unionize


Gawker Media writers said they voted 75 percent to 25 percent to join the Guild. The union said 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. (Gawker Media)

NEW YORK » Gossip and news site Gawker Media employees say they have voted to join the Writers Guild of America, East, making it the first digital media outlet to organize.

In a Web posting, Gawker Media writers said they voted 75 percent to 25 percent to join the Guild. The union said 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

Gawker first said it was planning to unionize in April. The employees said in the post Thursday that the next step will be determining what they want to bargain for and forming a bargaining committee.

While no digital media sites have been unionized, The Associated Press, The New York Times and other newspaper staffers have union representation.

Gawker Media runs branded websites that feature news and gossip on different topics, including Gawker, Gizmodo, Jezebel, io9 and others. The company says it has 64 million monthly U.S. readers. The original site, Gawker, which focuses on media and culture, was founded in 2002.

Gawker founder and CEO Nick Denton said in a statement that he is "pleased Gawker is leading the movement in the online media world toward collaboration and inclusion."

The Writers Guild of America, East, is part of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the U.S.

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