The Onion Union Reaches Tentative Deal With Management, Averting Strike

Katie Kilkenny
·2 min read

A strike has been averted at The Onion and several of its sister publications, at least for now.

Hours before their current labor agreement was set to expire, The Onion union — representing staffers at The Onion, Onion Labs, The A.V. Club, Deadspin and The Takeout — reached a tentative deal on a new contract with owners G/O Media. According to the union, affiliated with the Writers Guild of America East, the new agreement “made important gains in wages and workplace protections.” No other details were immediately available.

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The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to G/O Media for comment.

The deal will now go to the 36 creative workers in the union’s bargaining unit and the WGA East Council for a ratification vote, whose date has not yet been set. If the agreement is ratified, it will go into effect, and if not, union members will essentially send their negotiators back to the bargaining table and a strike could still be an option. According to the union, further details of the deal will be shared if the agreement is ratified.

“It was critical we reach a deal that addresses the numerous challenges and existential threats to our careers, and this tentative agreement could not have been won without a willingness to take collective action to secure the contract we deserve,” The Onion Union said in a statement. “Our union has never been stronger and more united.”

The negotiations have been turbulent and, at times, acrimonious. On Jan. 12, 97 percent of the bargaining unit at The Onion Union signed a strike pledge vowing to commence a work stoppage if no new contract deal was reached by Wednesday. Then, on Jan. 25, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that G/O Media was “bargaining in bad faith” during the talks, a claim that the company denied. As of that date, the union and management had agreed to engage the services of a federal mediator to help them settle their differences.

Unionized staffers have stated that top priorities in this negotiations cycle included tackling the concern of AI use in the workplace, raising wages and improving benefits. WGA East’s vp online media, Sara David, said in a statement earlier in the month that the issues in this contract negotiation were “existential.”

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