Statement: NBC Guild Responds to Illegal Layoffs Across NBC News and MSNBC

For Immediate Release: January 13, 2023 

NBC GUILD RESPONDS TO ILLEGAL LAYOFFS ACROSS NBC NEWS AND MSNBC

NATIONAL — 

Yesterday, NBC News management abruptly and illegally laid off several union journalists without providing us any advance notice or rationale. HR representatives promptly ended a call when stewards demanded an explanation for the terminations. 

Decisions like this undermine the essential work of NBC News and MSNBC employees and show a lack of care for the integrity and sustainability of our newsrooms. 

Management is also attempting to remove msnbc.com staffers from our union, informing them that they are no longer “part of the Guild,” effective today. This clear violation of the law is yet another brazen example of NBC attempting to strip its workers of their right to organize and bargain together. 

Today, we filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge at the NLRB against these illegal actions by the company. We will continue to fight through direct and collective action for our affected unit members and against the company’s union-busting until we win a fair contract that guarantees safety and protections for everyone across our newsrooms.

NBC News management’s consistent lack of respect for their workers is unacceptable. Hundreds of us unionized because we’re fiercely dedicated to our jobs, our audience, and our coworkers, and are committed to making NBC live up to its purported values. We unionized for a collective voice in decisions that affect us, to bring much-needed transparency to our workplace, and to have one another’s backs, no matter what. 

We demand that Cesar Conde, Libby Leist, and incoming president of editorial Rebecca Blumenstein stand up for our newsroom, stop union-busting, and reinstate our unlawfully terminated colleagues. 

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ABOUT THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK

The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, is a labor union representing nearly 6,000 media professionals and other employees at New York area news organizations, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Thomson Reuters, The Nation, BuzzFeed News, TIME, PEOPLE, Wirecutter, and The Daily Beast. The NewsGuild of New York advocates for journalists to have a voice in the newsroom, for press freedom, for inclusive and diverse workplaces, and for just cause, no exceptions, for all media professionals.