Politico, E&E News employees announce they are unionizing

The employees at Politico and E&E News announced on Friday that they are unionizing and seeking recognition from management and Politico founder Robert Allbritton.

“A supermajority of newsroom employees at POLITICO and E&E News have formed a union. We seek equitable pay, a diverse and inclusive workplace, job protections for everyone and a voice in decisions that affect all of us,” the union, named the PEN Guild, said in a statement shared on Twitter.

“In the spirit of love for journalism, respect for our colleagues and hope for this company’s future, we request that Robert Allbritton and management voluntarily recognize our joint union — a unit of of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America — and agree to negotiate the terms of our employment,” the statement added. 

A supermajority of newsroom employees at POLITICO and E&E News have formed a union, in the spirit of love for journalism, respect for our colleagues and hope for this company’s future. pic.twitter.com/yg6ihjTImP

— penguild (@penguild) October 29, 2021

The Hill has reached out to Politico, the executive editor at E&E News and Allbritton for comment.

The news comes nearly a year after Politico purchased E&E News, an outlet focused on energy and the environment.

Axios reported in August, citing unnamed sources, that employees at Politico were seeking to form a union.

At the time, Politico spokesperson Brad Dayspring told Axios that Allbritton “understands that the decision to form a union is the choice of the newsroom employees who would be impacted by it, and POLITICO would respect the process and the majority decision of those employees.”

However, Allbritton told The New York Times in an interview that was published later that month that the idea of unionizing at Politico did not make sense.

“If you’re working in a warehouse, it makes sense,” Allbritton told the newspaper. “But when you’re talking about smart folks who are using their minds for a very creative project, I don’t get it.”