In a survey conducted by the Association of American Literary Agents about the Harper Collins strike, the 215 agents responding expressed what the organization calls “robust support” for the union. The AALA writes in a summary of the survey, “Among the supporters, 74.4% back the strike unequivocally while 4.7% are positive with caveats. Meanwhile 9.3% say they are neutral and 11.1% feel they need more information about the issue to form an opinion. Fewer than 1% of respondents say they do not support the strike at all.” The strike is now in its sixth week, with workers demanding a higher […]
Unions
Harper Union, Authors to Hold Strike Rally
In response to Harper Collins ceo Brian Murray’s open letter addressing union negotiations, the Harper Collins Union will hold a rally outside company headquarters on December 16. Co-hosted by The Poppy War author RF Kuang and former publishing professional and debut author Molly McGhee, the rally will take place at 12:30 PM at 195 Broadway in New York City. In a release, union chair and senior production editor at Harper Children’s Laura Harshberger said, “By issuing this statement, Brian Murray and the rest of News Corp confirmed for us that our strike is working and that the support of our […]
One Major New York Publisher Pays Starting Salary of $50K
In yesterday’s open letter addressing negotiations with the union, Harper Collins ceo Brian Murray wrote that, “Based on publicly available information, HarperCollins’s proposed compensation increases would provide for a higher starting salary than any other major New York publisher.” The dollar amount of Harper’s proposal was not disclosed; the union has said it is asking to increase the base salary from $45,000 to $50,000. To expand on the publicly available information, Simon & Schuster’s starting salary for New York City employees is $50,000, which the company confirmed to PL. (Our understanding is that S&S pays based on a 40-hour workweek. […]
Harper Collins Offers First Response to Union Strike
Harper Collins ceo Brian Murray has issued an open letter in response to the agents and authors who have contacted the company in support of the union. “While we don’t typically comment on negotiations, I feel we owe you a response and want to share some additional background,” he writes. The letter frames the current conflict as with the United Auto Workers union rather than the workers themselves, and notes that the company aims to support all employees, “regardless of their position or union affiliation.” Murray writes that during contract negotiations the company offered “a fair and reasonable pay structure, […]
Harper Collins Union Strike Continues
The Harper Collins Union is on day 18 of their strike (counting work days), which began on November 10, and UAW Local 2110 president Olga Brudastova affirms to PL that the union is prepared to continue as long as it takes to get to a contract. We estimate that the striking workers are losing something on the order of $250,000 a week in gross wages (or $50,000 for each strike day). Here, the workers’ alignment with the auto workers union shows its strength. The UAW strike fund pays each worker $400 per week, starting from the first day of the […]
Agents Sign Letter of Support for HCP Union
A group of 172 agents sent HarperCollins a letter supporting the HCP Union, which has been striking since November 10 for an increase to the base salary and a commitment to diverse hiring. The signatories state that they will not submit new projects to the publisher until the strike ends. They write: “We and our clients have benefited greatly from the passion and expertise of HarperCollins’ staff, and we stand with them in their demands for a living wage, a more equitable and diverse workplace, and stronger union protections. Until an agreement is reached and the strike ends, we will […]