From the Desk of the Assistant to the Vice President of CWA District 1

Last Wednesday, I had the honor of standing alongside our NewsGuild-CWA family and speaking out about the illegal firings of four NewsGuild-CWA leaders by Condé Nast, for their union activity. Alongside Attorney General Letitia James, union leaders, and impacted workers, we stood united to tell Conde Nast that when you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. This was blatant, egregious union-busting, and an attack on journalists whose mission is to hold power to account.

The company fired these workers — Alma, Ben, Jake, and Jasper — after they dared to ask questions about layoffs following the announcement that Teen Vogue would be absorbed by Vogue. Why wouldn’t the company answer their questions? What are they scared of? The answer is: us. They’re afraid, like every union-buster before them, of the power we have when we stand together, and the power they see building all across this country as we speak.

The United States is facing a dangerous trend of media consolidation, with more and more publications being absorbed into larger conglomerates, resulting in staff and resources being cut or publications being killed off altogether. This goes hand-in-hand with union-busting and trying to chip away at our rights and power. When a handful of corporations and hedge funds control the majority of news outlets (as of 2021, 6 companies owned 90% of the media outlets in the United States), the result is fewer independent voices, fewer local reporters, and far fewer stories about issues that directly impact us and our families. It means the truth is harder for us to hear, and to expose, and it threatens all of us.

When newsrooms shrink or disappear, the struggles and victories of working families are pushed out of the public conversation. When hedge funds and tech companies buy up publications, it’s bosses trying to control the narrative. Issues like fair wages, workplace safety, major contract fights, pro-worker legislation or legislation that cuts into our union rights — it all ends up on the chopping block. A weakened press means a weaker labor movement, and a less informed public. [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/feb/26/jeff-bezos-washington-post-opinion]

Alma, Ben, Jake, and Jasper matter. Their jobs matter. The work they do, along with the rest of their NewsGuild sisters and brothers and siblings, is vital for both our communities and country as a whole. And it’s vital for our union specifically and every single contract fight, grievance, and workplace issue we face in our ranks. We will continue fighting for their reinstatement, and for the protection and strengthening of all of the publications that remain in this country, and the workers who are the backbone of a free and vibrant press.