BuzzFeed News employees are pushing to make the company a union shop, a decision that came shortly after BuzzFeed laid off about 15 percent of its workforce last month.
“It’s not all fun and memes,” the organizing committee said in a statement. “Our staff has been organizing for several months, and we have legitimate grievances about unfair pay disparities, mismanaged pivots and layoffs, weak benefits, skyrocketing health insurance costs, diversity and more.”
BuzzFeed employees first raised questions about unionizing in 2015 after several staff members met with the NewsGuild of New York about a pay gap between certain employees, especially women and minorities. The employees continued to meet with the NewsGuild as recently as the fall, and the New York Times reported that the recent layoffs have bolstered organizers.
Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s founder, has previously said he didn’t believe a union was the right fit for the company. BuzzFeed did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Efforts to unionize at BuzzFeed only include staff members of the news division so far. If the company doesn’t recognize the union, organizers are prepared to hold a union election with a representative from the National Labor Relations Board.
