Slate magazine writers vote nearly unanimously to go on strike

Newly unionized writers and editors at Slate magazine have voted nearly unanimously, 52-1, in favor of going on strike at the Washington, D.C.-based online publication, the Washington Examiner reported.

"Today we're announcing the results of our strike authorization vote," the Slate Union tweeted Tuesday. "Last week, 100 percent of our bargaining unit voted and 98 percent chose to authorize a strike if necessary. We're proud of this overwhelming representation of solidarity."

Tensions have increased between management and the journalists, who are now considering walking off the job, a spokesman for the Writers Guild of America - East labor union told Bloomberg.

In January, the editorial staff voted 45-7 to form the union affiliated with WGAE.

The publication's editorial staff wants higher wages, more diversity in the workforce, and for management to back off its support for "right-to-work" policies, which makes union membership optional.

"We just feel that it's a total and absolute betrayal of Slate's most fundamental values," Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern told Bloomberg. Stern is a member of the union's bargaining committee.

Union bargaining has been ongoing for eight months.

Before the vote to strike, employees protested in other ways, including periods of refusing to respond to their managers on Slack, according to the report.

Slate is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the U.S. from a liberal perspective. The magazine was created in 1996.