Vox Media employees will not be striking after all, after the Vox Media Union on Friday morning said it reached a tentative agreement with the media company on a new contract.
“As of now there will be NO STRIKE! Please continue enjoying all our work, knowing you all helped us get here!” the union said in a post on Bluesky.
Terms of the pending deal were not shared. Vox employees represented by the Writers Guild of America East threatened to strike last week unless the company — which is home to outlets like New York magazine, The Verge and Vulture — offered better pay and protections against artificial intelligence taking their jobs.
The tentative agreement was reached at 5:00 a.m. on Friday morning — just hours after members of the WGA East-affiliated Vox Media Union voted to authorize its leaders to order a strike against the media company at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday if a deal was not reached.
Ninety five percent of the 250-member bargaining unit voted in favor of the strike authorization. The unit includes editorial staffers at Vox.com, The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Pop Sugar, Thrillist, Vox Media Podcast Network and The Dodo. If a strike is ordered, WGA East plans to hold picket lines outside Vox’s Broad Street headquarters in New York.
Beyond safeguards against AI taking jobs, the Vox Media Union was seeking minimum compensation and annual raises “that reflect today’s economy and cost of living,” improved severance benefits and layoff procedures.
Vox employees were also looking for a “more just approach to Vox’s constant stream of layoffs.” The company in January went through its third round of job cuts in two months, kickstarting what has been a brutal year for the media industry.
Leading up to Friday morning, various unions have voiced their support for Vox Media, including a joint statement signed by the players associations for a variety of sports leagues covered by Vox’s websites, including those for MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and NWSL, among others. The AFL-CIO and New York City Central Labor Council also supported a campaign that sent a letter to Vox’s leadership with more than 3,000 union members signing.
