After a strong majority of Hearst Magazines employees signed union cards, the Hearst Union Organizing Committee and the WGAE asked for voluntary union recognition from the company. Voluntary recognition has been standard in the media industry for the last several years, with employers like Condé Nast and CBS agreeing to respect the will of the majority of their employees in similar situations. However, Hearst corporate management has refused to follow this standard and has insisted on an election supervised by the NLRB.
