On Monday, staff at Snopes.com, the oldest fact-checking organization on the internet, went public with their effort to form a union with Media Guild of the West, NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213.
Members of the Snopes Guild are seeking voluntary recognition from management after 80% (and counting) of workers signed union authorization cards. In a political moment where misinformation is running rampant, the workers who make this important online resource are fighting for the job security, transparency, fair pay and quality benefits they need to keep Snopes.com running.
“Snopes writers are the lifeblood of this project,” organizers wrote in a mission statement sent to management. “We remain nonpartisan and impartial despite the backlash we have faced over many years. We continue to write stories on topics that impact our communities and we consistently produce disruptive work that shapes public discourse. In forming a union, we join a historic tradition in the fight for labor rights worldwide and are poised to become one of the first dedicated fact-checking newsrooms to engage in collective action.”