• by Ray Schultz , February 11, 2024

Writers and editors at CBS News Digital have unionized with the Writer’s Guild of America East (WGAE), and are asking management to recognize it. 

The purpose is to conduct collective bargaining. 

The union will cover workers at CBSNews.com, its mobile website, social media channels and the CBS News app.  

The union says that an overwhelming majority of the staffers signed union cards. 

“We are seeing unprecedented mergers, consolidation and layoffs in the news industry,” says  Kathy McGee, vice president of broadcast/cable/streaming news at the WGAE and a writer/producer for CBS News New York.  

McGee adds, “Journalists are telling stories and lifting voices in communities that are often ignored. The most responsible thing media workers can do is to form a union to win critical workplace protection.”

The union hopes to address transparency; equitable and fair compensation and benefits; diversity; and editorial standards.

The union recently won its first collective bargaining agreement at MSNBC and a second contract with CBS News Streaming.