27 editorial workers at amNY, Brooklyn Paper, Bronx Times, and 30-plus other outlets voted 90% for IAPE Local 1096 of the NewsGuild in an NLRB election July 24 — now contract bargaining begins at a chain where starting editorial pay runs as low as $37,000.

The 27 editorial workers at Schneps Media voted July 24 to join the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, Local 1096 of the NewsGuild-CWA, with 90 percent of ballots cast in favor. The NLRB held in-person elections simultaneously at the company's Brooklyn and Long Island offices, certifying what organizers called a year-and-a-half effort at New York City's largest local newspaper chain.

Schneps publishes amNewYork, the Brooklyn Paper, the Bronx Times, Brownstoner, QNS, Noticias, New York Family, Staten Island Parent, Caribbean Life, the Long Island Press, and Dan's Papers, among more than 30 total outlets covering all five boroughs and the Island.

The win opens first-contract bargaining at a company where starting editorial pay runs as low as $37,000 a year.

"We, the reporters of Schneps Media, are elated to finally have won a seat at the table to negotiate for livable wages, affordable health care, and stronger editorial guardrails," said Ethan Stark-Miller, an amNew York reporter and member of the organizing committee. Stark-Miller said management had mounted "a concerted anti-union effort" in the weeks before the vote — "an onslaught of emails, calls, and one-on-one meetings aimed at swaying us to vote no." CEO Josh Schneps had declined to grant voluntary recognition when workers asked, forcing the NewsGuild to file a representation petition with the NLRB earlier this year.

"IAPE is thrilled with the monumental win of the Schneps Media Union and looks forward to negotiating with the company to create a fair contract that protects worker rights, ensures fair treatment of workers and guarantees employees are paid what they deserve," said Jodi Green, president of IAPE Local 1096. Schneps Media made no public statement on the election outcome.

IAPE Local 1096, a sector of the Communications Workers of America, represents more than 1,300 members across media and technology companies in the U.S. and Canada.

The unit now moves to first-contract talks — the phase where the wage floor, health coverage, and editorial standards either get written into a binding agreement or don't. At $37,000 starting, the gap between where Schneps reporters currently sit and what a negotiated floor could reach is the number to watch.