Medium Workers Request Voluntary Recognition for Medium Workers Union

A statement from Medium workers who are organizing to join the Communications Workers of America:

Today, the employees of Medium are proud to announce the creation of our Medium Workers Union, as members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Our union will act as a framework for collaboration, consensus, and action to ensure equity and stability for all Medium employees.

Medium Workers Union includes an overwhelming supermajority of eligible Medium employees across the company in the engineering, editorial, design, and product departments. We demand that management swiftly and voluntarily recognize our union, and commit to participating in a good faith relationship with the unit.

"We care about each other, we care about our work, and we care how our work impacts the Medium community. Together in our union, we can ensure Medium is a force for good, inside and out,” said Lyra Naeseth, an engineer for Medium’s Creator Platform Group.

Our new union is part of the CODE-CWA (Campaign to Organize Digital Employees) initiative, and the workers will be members of CWA Local 9410. Medium Workers Union is part of an unprecedented wave of workers organizing across tech and media, and we are proud to stand in solidarity with our sister unions at Kickstarter, Glitch, and Alphabet.

Medium is a space where the world’s stories are told, whether by professional journalists, industry experts, brave dissidents, or burgeoning writers. We are a platform that strives to be open to everyone, and our work has helped to democratize an industry, hold power to account, and connect readers and writers to meaningful communities.

Our strength as a company comes from a dedicated team of engineers, editors, reporters, data analysts, marketers, designers, curators, producers, partnership managers, and administrators — all who work tirelessly to help Medium be a force for good in the world.

"I joined our union because I really love working at Medium, and want to make sure that its workers have a seat at the table in decision making as the company continues to grow. I think Medium needs our union because all workplaces who value their teams need a union. A more democratic style of company benefits us all. I want our union to establish stronger baseline protections for workers,” said Peter Slattery, an audience development editor at Medium.

Every worker at Medium deserves a voice. Unionizing is an act of care — we are using our collective power to protect and champion our users, our fellow coworkers, and our work. Together, we can create a Medium that lives up to its values. Our union stands in solidarity with all other workers, on-platform and off.