Four of Condé Nast’s publications—Ars Technica, Pitchfork, Wired, and The New Yorker—have already unionized. But this week brought big news, in the form of a companywide union at the publishing giant’s other brands. That’s more than 500 workers, which is very small compared to the Amazon warehouse that unionized this week, but very big compared to, say, a Starbucks store.
The workers in the new union include editorial, video, and production staff, at 11 publications, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Bon Appétit, and Architectural Digest. When The New Yorker workers unionized, they won a salary minimum of $60,000 a year—a big raise from the $42,000 some staff had been paid for jobs in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
“It comes down to prestige doesn’t pay the bills,” Vanity Fair web producer Jaime Archer was quoted in The Washington Post. “We love working here, and we want to keep working here. … If Condé wants to attract the best talent in the business, they have to stop relying on prestige and provide equitable pay and benefits.”
● Labor Notes has a great look at the Amazon Labor Union's successful organizing effort, reported by Luis Feliz Leon.
● The Maryland House and Senate have each passed paid family leave bills. Now they need to get on the same page and pass one bill. Then the question is whether Republican Gov. Larry Hogan will sign, or if he can be overridden.
● We all know teachers are underpaid. But who imagined it was this bad?
● First Google Fiber workers vote to unionize in Kansas City. It’s a very small unit, but firsts matter.
● Starbucks fired another union activist:
● This union-busting effort failed, but is this who Democrats want crafting their message?
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