Canadian Media Guild members sign first collective agreement with VICE Canada

CMG Bargaining Committee at VICE l.-r.:
Raffi DerGhazarian, Happy Pharwaha, Justin Ling,
Maggie McCaw, Deb Hong and Federico Carvajal

Staff at VICE Canada have ratified their first, three-year collective agreement that provides them with better pay and benefits, pay equity and measures to protect editorial independence. They were represented by the Canadian Media Guild. Immediate salary increases range from 2% to up to 52.5%, with an average of 9%, based on a salary grid negotiated over the past nine months. 

"This first contract sets us on the right path here as workers at VICE," said Maggie McCaw, a member of the CMG negotiating committee. "We organized because we all agreed that the long hours, creative passion, and professional experience we were investing here were not being recognized fairly by management. This agreement ensures that everyone at VICE will be paid fairly for the work they do and will be treated with respect across the board – from interns all the way up to managing editors. It is an agreement that all of VICE staff and management can be proud of."

The Canadian Media Guild represents over 5,000 members across Canada, including employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Société Radio-Canada, The Canadian Press and Pagemasters North America, Thomson Reuters, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, TVO, TFO, Corus, VICE, Zoomer, AFP and in private radio, as well as freelancers.