TORONTO – Canadian Media Guild (CMG) members at Vice Canada have ratified their first collective agreement at the global digital media giant with major gains in salaries and benefits, stronger equity provisions, and measures to protect editorial independence, the organization announced Monday.
This is the first contract with Vice employees who unionized within CMG just under a year ago. The three-year agreement, which comes into effect immediately, was reached after nine months of negotiations and was tentatively agreed on March 31, 2017 where it received the support of 94.7% of voting members.
"CMG members at Vice have done what is required to make the improvements they deserve. They've pulled together in a union, our union, to strengthen their voices at work, now, and moving forward," said CMG president Kamala Rao, in a statement. "This is a day for celebration. Workers at VICE have demonstrated that securing fair pay and benefits, guarding editorial independence, and doing things like making gains in the areas of equity is still possible. They've shown that making things better now, as always, requires focus, a willingness to take some real risks, and to hold your ground collectively."
The Canadian Media Guild is a democratic trade union that represents over 5000 members across Canada, including employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Société Radio-Canada, The Canadian Press and Pagemasters North America, Thomson Reuters, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, TVO, TFO, Corus, VICE, Zoomer, AFP and in private radio, as well as freelancers.
