STRIKE ALERT! NewsGuild-CWA Members Walk Off the Job at ProPublica

Workers at investigative nonprofit newsroom ProPublica — members of the NewsGuild of New York-CWA — walked off the job on April 8th in a one-day strike, holding picket lines at the company’s New York City headquarters, as well as in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Members, NewsGuild-CWA and CWA leadership, and supporters in NYC held a mid-day rally and press conference in the midst of picketing, speaking out about the company’s attempts at union-busting and dragging their feet at the bargaining table more than two years since the staff decided to unionize in August of 2023.  

“Our members at ProPublica are key to the company’s reputation for excellence,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. “Today, they have walked off the job to remind management of their value and demonstrate their commitment to accomplishing a fair contract.”

The membership includes communications staff, developers, reporting fellows, copy editors and other workers. They won voluntary recognition in August 2023 and began bargaining in December of that year. More than two years later, they’re still fighting for their first union contract; last month, the workers voted 92% in favor of authorizing a strike.

ProPublica management has:

• Refused to agree to standard job security protections and seniority provisions in layoffs
• Denied workers wage increases that keep up with the rising cost of living
• Rejected any restrictions on replacing jobs with AI

Just before going on strike, the workers filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the company’s unilateral implementation of an AI policy, after the company failed to bargain with the union as required by labor law.

“It has been two years,” said Billy Gallagher, CWA District 1 Assistant to the Vice President, speaking at the rally. “Two years of talk. Two years of stalls. Two years of management turning their backs on the very people who win the awards and break the stories. They’ve rejected the most basic job protections — protections that should be a given!”

As part of the strike, ProPublica workers asked readers and supporters to not visit ProPublica’s website or click on any company’s content on other platforms during the entirety of April 8th.

“Our members are standing together to demand that management agree to very basic, very standard union protections,” said Jeff Ernsthausen, a senior data reporter. “We care deeply about our work, so we call on management to understand the gravity of this walkout and to come to the table ready to take our concerns seriously.”