Unions

The Harper Collins Union announced that, if it cannot reach an agreement on a contract with management, it would begin striking on Nov. 10 instead of Nov. 7, “because we want to make sure all our employees are able to participate fully in the crucial midterm elections on Tuesday [Nov. 8].” In a memo to staff on Friday, the company commented on the negotiations for the first time. Management says that it has agreed to a number of the union’s proposals, and hopes to reach an agreement. They noted that entry level salaries have gone up 25 percent since the last time […]

Three months after their one-day strike on July 20, the Harper Collins Union has voted to authorize another strike, this time open-ended. If they can’t reach an agreement on a contract, union members (who number more than 250) will strike again beginning on November 7. “We have been bargaining for 11 months toward an agreement that would make HarperCollins a more accessible, equitable, and just workplace,” senior production editor and union chairperson Laura Harshberger said. “Once again, the members voted to authorize a strike because the company refuses to agree to a fair contract for the employees that make it […]

The Harper Collins Union shared on social media that it has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, after the company did not respond to a request for information during bargaining. “We strongly believe the Board has to agree with us that the company’s refusal not only violates the labor law, but also gets in the way of us working toward an agreement,” the union said.

The Verso Books Union in the US has ratified its contract with the publisher, the union announced on Twitter. The contract includes stipulations for wage increases, protections and increases in benefits, affirmative action in hiring, and clear “close to binding” standards for promotions, among other things. Specifically, workers will receive an 11 percent raise for the first year of the contract and a 14.6 percent average increase cumulatively over three years. They also “won a new salary band system that delivers predictable and automatic annual salary steps at the start of each calendar year.” As for back to the office […]

Workers at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC, who unionized with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 in January, ratified their contract yesterday. The three-year contract, which applies to approximately 50 current employees across locations, includes provisions for better pay and scheduling, new procedures to address disputes with management, and “expands on existing anti-discrimination language,” among others. Instead of merit-based pay increases, the new contract establishes a guaranteed annual raise based on experience and will go up along with DC’s annual minimum wage increases. “We are incredibly elated to have arrived here after eight months of hard work, and […]