FORBES UNION TO EXECS: ‘We have lost faith in your ability to manage our newsroom and the company’

NEW YORK –  The unionized editorial staff of Forbes, represented by The NewsGuild of New York, has overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence against CEO Mike Federle and Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, charging them with failing to maintain essential standards of editorial integrity, allowing pay inequity and erosion of staff to persist and refusing to be part of productive contract negotiations.

Members of the Forbes Union sent the vote of no confidence in a letter addressed to both executives on September 11, 2024.

“This letter is a vote of no confidence, which we have collectively taken, to demonstrate that we have lost faith in your abilities to manage our newsroom and the company,” the letter said. 

Pay that fails to recognize the value union members bring to Forbes has contributed to a staff exodus, the letter says. 

“Under your leadership, more than 70 staffers have left the company, many of them departing because they were not fairly compensated for their work. Pay that recognizes the value we bring to Forbes was a central reason why we organized our union three years ago.”

Persistent pay disparity is also an issue. Over the last two years, Forbes Union members have conducted pay studies that found that journalists of color continue to be paid less than their white counterparts. In this year’s study, numbers show that the racial pay gap at Forbes continues to widen and that men continue to earn more than women. 

The Forbes Union organized with The NewsGuild of New York in 2021. For three years workers have been fighting for a first contract, only to be met with tired, union-busting tactics by Forbes management. 

The union has on multiple occasions proposed language that would erect guardrails around their reporting and protect editorial integrity only to be met with roadblocks. 

“The response from your bargaining representatives has been a weak and unenforceable set of ‘editorial values and standards’ that don’t prevent the company from placing sponsored content such as BrandVoice or Forbes Advisor alongside staff work on the website with little labeling or delineation,” the letter says. 

The union points to Forbes’ management’s refusal to implement stronger oversight over the contributor network–over the objections of staff members–which frequently leads to unvetted articles from contributors that create outrage from readers, cause damage to the newsroom’s reputation and the company’s image as a trusted news brand. 

The letter calls out Federle and Lane for their lack of commitment to agreeing to a contract that would lay the foundation for a stronger, more equitable company.

“Without us, Forbes would not be the trusted brand it is today and it couldn’t produce its flagship lists, from 30 Under 30 to the Forbes 400. A decimated and demoralized newsroom cannot function. We need a contract, and we need it now. A major course correction is needed.”