At Gawker Media, New Economy Workers Strive to Form a New Kind of Union

Workers at Gawker Media, a digital media outlet, made headlines with their decision to form a union, but they say they are simply looking for a way to provide some stability in a turbulent industry.

Gawker’s new employees typically start at $40,000 to $50,000 a year and enjoy generous benefits, its workers say. Its tech-savvy employees came of age in the new economy — about 40 percent rarely, if ever, set foot inside the company’s brick-and-mortar headquarters in Manhattan — and even the office workers often spend the first few hours of their workdays at home, reporting on media and culture, gossip and cars, technology and celebrities from the comfort of their couches.