Reporters at Schneps Media are forming a union, they announced Monday morning, citing low pay and high turnover at the local media chain that has grown in recent years to include more than 100 newspapers, websites, and other media properties across the New York City metro area, including amNewYork, the Queens Courier, the Brooklyn Paper and the Bronx Times.
According to reporters involved in the organizing drive, 85 percent of the bargaining unit, which consists of 27 editorial staffers across Schneps publications, have signed cards in support of the union. They delivered notification of their intention to unionize to Schneps management on Monday morning. Schneps Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Hell Gate.
"It's just very difficult for our members just to be able to sustain living in New York City under our current salaries," said Max Parrott, a reporter covering courts at amNewYork Law and a member of the union's organizing committee. "We don't have many options other than to organize and ask for more, just to keep us housed, in some cases."
"When it comes to pay, Schneps is very far out of the norm," said Emily Swanson, a reporter at the Bronx Times. "None of us were necessarily expecting to become rich off of working in local news, but like in my case, I started at $40,000 a year in late 2023, and that was with a master's degree." Swanson has since been bumped up to $44,000 a year, she said, but "that is nowhere near what's considered to be a living wage in New York City." Ethan Stark-Miller, who has worked for Schneps for almost four years, covering Mayor Eric Adams and now transit for amNewYork , told Hell Gate he currently makes $55,000 a year.
The Schneps website is currently advertising an open reporter position in Mineola, Long Island, with a salary range of $37,000 to $40,000 a year.