ULP STRIKE ALERT: Law360 Union walks off the job

NEW YORK – Unionized editorial workers at LexisNexis-owned Law360 began an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike at 12:01 a.m. today, after giving management every opportunity to bargain a fair contract and negotiate remedies for their unlawful actions.

Union members will begin picketing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m EST and are holding a rally at 1 p.m. outside LexisNexis headquarters at 230 Park Ave., New York City. The union will also be picketing online, asking subscribers of Law360 to not click on or open any digital content during the strike. 

The members of Law360 Union, the fifth largest bargaining unit represented by The NewsGuild of New York, have been preparing for this day since taking a formal strike authorization vote in February.

“We know our worth,” said Hailey Konnath, a reporter for Law360 and unit chair for the union. “We have been more than willing to bargain and negotiate to complete our contract and remedy the numerous unfair labor practice charges we filed against the company. So with the start of the U.S. Supreme Court session in less than a month, we walked out to show that we are the value behind Law360 and we deserve better. We will not accept any less.”

Contract negotiations between the union, which represents about 250 workers, and representatives from Law360 and parent company LexisNexis began on Nov. 17, 2022. The union’s current contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022.

The union’s bargaining team has spent the months since the strike authorization vote making every effort to negotiate with management but has been met time and time again with stall tactics and disrespect. The company’s unlawful mid-contract layoffs and unilateral changes to healthcare plans required the union to file ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

Law360 management violated U.S. labor law when it laid off 10% of its Guild-represented newsroom staff, announcing layoff plans hours after LexisNexis officials congratulated themselves on record profit and revenue growth in 2023. The NYGuild is challenging the layoffs at the National Labor Relations Board as a violation of the company’s obligation to maintain the status quo of the expired collective bargaining agreement.

Management, led by LexisNexis Vice President Teresa Harmon, continues to demand that union members accept paltry raises that fail to seriously address rising costs of living and dramatically increased costs for healthcare. Throughout bargaining management has repeatedly dismissed the impact of inflation on members as irrelevant to negotiations about wages. All while refusing to agree to the union’s reasonable demands that the company remedy its March 2024 unlawful layoff of 26 union-represented workers.

In addition, the union presented a health insurance plan alternative that would save both union members and management significant amounts of money. Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, management immediately objected to the plan on the basis that implementing the plan would be “too difficult” and they would no longer control its terms — an argument that rings hollow given that their current level of control over insurance rates has resulted in unprecedented cost increases for both sides.

Established in 2016, Law360 Union’s members are no strangers to powerful collective actions, having set the standard for many TNG-CWA unions and sparking a wave of new organizing across the country.

“Law360 and LexisNexis management chose corporate greed over the health and security of their newsroom workforce and over their commitment to subscribers,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York. “Our members are fighting for a contract that recognizes the value of the work they produce every day and that holds the company accountable for its unlawful actions.  Until management agrees to a deal we can ratify, that addresses our priorities, our members are withholding their labor.” 

Follow the latest from Law360 Union at: https://twitter.com/law360union.