Press

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.

When Daily Beast management – led by our new corporate partners Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles – informed us several weeks ago they were looking to slash staff in our newsroom, our bargaining team went right to work.

We successfully negotiated a robust buyout plan for our members, giving them the chance to decide for themselves if they wanted to leave the company. Twenty-five unit members, or roughly 70 percent of our unit, applied for the buyout. Our members now have a seven-day window to accept the buyout or rescind their application, which will mean the total number of members who choose to leave could change.

We have also won job security for unit members who choose to stay with the Company. Because we expect to exceed $1.5 million in payroll savings through the buyouts, unit members will be protected from any layoffs through Dec. 31, 2024.

We have also struck a tentative two-year collective bargaining agreement with the Company that benefits all of our members, whether they are choosing to take a buyout or staying. We have achieved retroactive pay increases from January 1 for all members. For members who are staying, the contract lifts wages for the lowest earners by at least 4% in 2024 (4.5% in 2025); mid-range earners by 2.5% in 2024 and 3% in 2025; higher-paid earners by 1% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025; and top-paid workers by .5% in both years.

We have been in the driver's seat of this process since Sherwood and Coles arrived at the Beast. We have battled with Company lawyers, demanded information in the face of uncertainty, and have won the fight for our colleagues to design their own futures. The security and dignity we’ve afforded our colleagues affirms that our work is valuable and empowering. No matter how many members accept the buyout, our work as a Union will continue. Managers come and go, but we, the Daily Beast Union, are here to stay.

In light of recent developments within The Daily Beast, we have negotiated a robust buyout plan for our members, which will allow them to decide for themselves if they wish to leave the company on their own terms.

NEW YORK –  Unionized staff at Condé Nast brands such as Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour, Bon Appétit and more have pledged to walk off the job after months of contentious bargaining on their first contract as well as on management’s proposed layoffs – and with the Met Gala a week away.

NEW YORK - Instead of coming to the table ready to bargain in good faith Tuesday, Condé Nast executives chose to bring no new contract proposals, and to instead add five more names to their list of union employees they want to lay off.

From the NYTimes:  More than 100 New York Times workers and their supporters protested outside The Times’s Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, accusing the company of delaying contract talks.