The Ringer editorial staff is unionizing in conjunction with the Writers Guild of America East, which also "represents editorial employees at Vox, G/O Media (the former Gawker sites), Vice, Gimlet Media, and Buzzfeed," according to Ryan Glasspiegel of THE BIG LEAD (8/12).
barstool sports
BARSTOOL SPEAKS OUT: VARIETY's Todd Spangler notes Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy following The Ringer news "made explicit threats to fire employees who engage in union-organizing activity." That "elicited a reply from Live Science staff writer Rafi Letzter, who offered to provide Barstool workers info on the unionization process and explain 'how little power your boss has to stop you.'” Live Science’s staff is also represented by the WGA East. Portnoy then said that he would "fire anyone who attempted to contact Letzter." Spangler: "Is Portnoy making a 'joke' with the union-busting rhetoric, or is he in fact trying to discourage Barstool staffers from contemplating taking any steps to join a union? ... Make no mistake: Barstool Sports management really doesn’t want its workers to unionize." A few Barstool employees also "played Portnoy’s threats for comedy" on Twitter (VARIETY.com, 8/13).
