With Gawker fresh off a win to unionize its newsroom, can Politico be too far behind?
Well, if Politico HR and management ever lets senior labor reporter Mike Elk back in their suburban Virginia newsroom to work, things could get hopping as far as a union is concerned.
But for now, he must remain outside the office because of his PTSD.
To be sure, management isn’t publicly shunning him and his bio is still listed on the website. Politico still claims Elk as their own, as evidenced by Wednesday’s Playbook in which Mike Allen gave him a shout-out in the famed birthday section. But the publication hasn’t published anything under Elk’s byline in some four months.
Fortunately for Elk, being outside the newsroom doesn’t stop his email from working.
After Gawker‘s overwhelming win, here’s what he had to say to his coworkers:
Subject: Historic Union Victory at Gawker – What’s next at POLITICO?
Our brothers and sisters at Gawker have scored a historic victory for journalists everywhere today. They had transparent process that allowed themselves to show why people to choose a union. I certainly think that we have the type of innovative leadership for that type of process to unfold. As someone, who has been active in the Newspaper Guild for my entire career, its been my intention since I got hired here to organize Politico.
If you are interesting in getting involved feel free to email me totally confidentially at mike.elk@gmail.com – I would hope that as journalists that we could be as transparent as our brothers and sisters at Gawker.
Solidarity Brothers & Sisters – its a historic day for journalism!