Canadaland staff vote to unionize

Staff at Canadaland have officially filed for union certification with CWA Canada after all non-management workers signed union cards.

“Over the past seven years, Canadaland has grown into one of the country’s premier podcast companies and one of its few sustainable journalism start-ups. We, the workers of Canadaland, are proud of the effort and creativity that have gone into making this possible,” asserted staff in a Canadaland Union Mission Statement, released by CWA. In order to ensure that success continues, we believe that forming a union is the best path forward — not just for us, but for the company as a whole.”

“The company’s own mission statement emphasizes the collective building of a ‘healthy, sustainable, cooperative, diverse, and equitable work culture, in which we offer fair pay, equal pay for equal work, health benefits, co-ownership, training, opportunities for advancement, and creative expression.’ We believe a union is a necessary extension of that mission and an essential tool for building the healthy work culture we all have a part in creating.”

“Forming a union will help us do our jobs better,” the statement continues. “By forming a union at a time when the company is growing, we believe we’re setting up Canadaland and its workers for success in the long run. This process will help us build upon our work, and the work of those who’ve come through here before us, to create a more stable, sustainable, and equitable future for the company.”

CWA Canada is the country’s only all-media union, representing 6,000 workers, including those at CBC, APTN, VICE, BuzzFeed, and The Canadian Press.

The move to unionize comes as the podcasting and media startup, which is both donor-funded and ad-supported, announced this week it’s raised $1 million in funding from the Tiny Foundation, the Victoria-based not-for-profit co-founded by tech entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, who is also behind long-form journalism startup, The Capital. To be paid out in monthly instalments over three years, Canadaland says the investment will result in more original journalism overall, including a follow-up series to its Thunder Bay podcast, with Ryan McMahon on board to host the new season about Niagara Falls.

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