Medium lets staff take Friday off to join nationwide ICE strike

Medium told employees they can take Friday, Jan. 30, off to participate in a nationwide immigration strike calling for the removal of ICE officers from cities, CEO Tony Stubblebine said in messages on the company Slack. Stubblebine said he had "started the week in my own head and heart" over the situation in Minneapolis after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and that seeing people push back gave him hope.

He cross-posted his Slack messages to Threads on Thursday and said he wanted to support employees' participation. He did not require staff to attend or take time off, saying employees were free to take as much time as they wished. Stubblebine acknowledged the tension between mission and business, writing, "our business thrives when the country thrives." Medium also said it would publish strike-related content in its newsletter on Friday, including pieces such as "Survival Guide To Police Encounters During Protests in Staff Picks." Activists, unions, and some celebrities have urged a no-work, no-school, no-shopping blackout for the strike; Pedro Pascal, Hannah Einbinder, Ariana Grande, and Jamie Lee Curtis have shared information about it.

Separately, more than 60 executives at Minnesota-based companies, including Target, Cargill, and General Mills, issued an open letter calling for peace and de-escalation.

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