Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
<em>Village Voice</em> Staff Poised To Go On Strike
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Jun 28, 2011
Modified Jun 28, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Jun 28, 2011
Modified Jun 28, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Union staff members at The Village Voice are ready and prepared to strike as their contract nears its deadline on June 30th. Today, staffers announced an alternative site, The Real Voice, where they plan to continue writing without management from Village Voice Media. We spoke to a Voice staffer and strike organizer about the situation.
The biggest issue in contract negotiations revolves around employee health benefits and 401K plan. An explanation on The Real Voice reads:
"Over the past three years, the Voice staff has been cut by an estimated 60%, and average annual salaries have markedly diminished. Management has so far played hardball with the union, refusing to make an offer, while demanding extensive concessions from the newspaper’s staff, including a substantial, ever-increasing contribution to an inferior health plan, as well as the elimination of management’s own contribution to employees’ retirement accounts."
Graham Rayman, a staff writer at the Voice since 2007 (you may remember his investigative "NYPD Tapes" series), told us "the staff is unified in its anger over these demands" and said they plan to be in negotiations for as long as necessary. "[Management] has rejected all of our demands and called them 'absurd,'" he said. "We hope that management comes to its senses." When asked if the situation had anything to do with a loss in advertising revenue stemming from a certain Jimmy Dolan penis joke, Rayman said, "We are skeptical of management's claim that they are in dire financial straits. We know they are making money."
Organizers are also planning a strike benefit tomorrow night at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. We'll update with more information as it becomes available.
UPDATE: We received the following email from Voice editor-in-chief Tony Ortega: "Every three years, we negotiate a new contract with the union. And every three years, the union authorizes a strike vote. Nothing that's happened so far is any different than in previous years, and I expect that on or before June 30 we will end up with a new contract that is approved by both sides."
Tagged
benefits
health care
media
newspaper
strike
the real voice
union
village voice
Jamie Feldmar
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
These are the NYC neighborhoods that will get free 2-K next fall
All of Staten Island and the Bronx will be eligible for seats.
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Modified Oct 19, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'
Because she's 18 years old now, here are your early links: The RHONY castmember mentioned in the Epstein Files, killing rats with carbon monoxide, Selena Gomez says don't vape and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'
Because she's 18 years old now, here are your early links: The RHONY castmember mentioned in the Epstein Files, killing rats with carbon monoxide, Selena Gomez says don't vape and more.
By
James Ramsay
Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
Need help with mental health or addiction services? NYC has a new tool.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYC sues personal injury law firm accused of bogus trip-and-fall claims
By
Walter Wuthmann
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .