Pay transparency is important, so let’s start here. Today is my last day after more than three years at The Ringer. I was an intern at $11.50/hr, then $12.50/hr. Then a full-time employee at $39,000, then $41,000, and then finally, at $46,700. We need a higher minimum salary. https://twitter.com/ringerunion/status/1296491944659554304

I was lucky, too. As far as I know, I was the highest compensated employee at my title level. But without clear paths to promotions or raises, or a standard review cycle, and a mandate to live in Los Angeles, the situation is untenable for a lot of us.

I worked nights for three years. There was a period where I worked 68 consecutive days. For nearly two years, I did not earn overtime pay until I worked 50 hours, and there were issues with the rate at which that was paid out.

Most of those issues were solved after the Spotify sale, but the lack of a liveable salary floor for entry level employees, transparency in paths to promotion and raises, and a lack of commitment to diversity at all levels needs to be addressed, and I hope it will be soon.

I should note that I’m lucky. I come from a pretty well off family, and I was able to take this job despite it being low-paying because I wanted to work here, and because I knew I had a safety net if I fell on hard times. Not everyone has that same opportunity.

I loved working @ringer, and I’m sad to go. In three years, I wrote 160 stories, worked on 11 special builds (draft guides, big lists, etc), appeared on a handful of podcasts, and fact-checked somewhere between 4,100 and 4,500 stories.

I’ll miss this place dearly. But time is up, and I hope management is willing to negotiate with the union on these issues so that the staffers in my position are compensated and treated fairly.