New York Magazine staffers learned company was getting sold in New York Times

New York Magazine staffers were stunned to learn that their 51-year-old publication had been sold to Vox Media by reading about it in the New York Times, their union said Wednesday.

Staffers were “deeply unsettled” by the article, which appeared late Tuesday and included extensive quotes from their boss, New York Media CEO Pam Wasserstein, as well as a photo of her posing next to Vox Media chief executive and chairman Jim Bankoff.

“We’re deeply unsettled by the disrespectful manner in which they informed our staff—after the New York Times story was published and after the press release was issued,” said the News Guild of New York, the union that represents editorial workers at New York magazine and related web sites.

The union said the company didn’t tell employees about the deal until 9:11 pm, after the New York Times story ran complete with on-the-record interviews with Wasserstein.

“It’s a brilliant, in our view, opportunity, so that’s why we leaned into it. It’s not out of need. It’s out of ambition,” Wasserstein told the Times.

Wasserstein, who will join the combined company as president of Vox Media, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

“Our members deserved far greater respect, especially as we are currently actively bargaining for a first contract,” the Guild said in a statement.

New York Media had 185 full- and part-time staffers who opted to unionize in December. The company already had one round of downsizings after the unionization drive by workers, which cut about 10 percent of its editorial workforce.

Vox Media also has about 350 unionized editorial workers in its ranks, but they are represented by the Writers Guild of America East.

That union ratified a contract with management in June — 14 months after unionizing. New York Media remains without a contract, despite its editorial workers opting to unionize last December.