Vice Media's digital editorial staff join union, latest in a wave

Vice Media's digital editorial staff are joining a union — the latest in a wave of digital staffers voting to unionize.

The Writers Guild of America, East, said Friday that the next step is negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with Vice management.

Vice CEO Shane Smith said he supported the writers' decision to unionize.

Over the summer, Gawker Media, Salon and Guardian U.S. editorial staffers joined the same union. Before that, no digital media sites had been unionized. The Associated Press, The New York Times and other newspaper staffers have union representation.

The Writers Guild of America, East, is part of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the United States.