As the Harper Collins union prepares to rally outside News Corp headquarters today, marking their 50th day on strike, union chair and senior production editor Laura Harshberger updated Hell Gate and spoke about what it means to have union protections. While the union has demanded an increase in starting pay from $45,000 to $50,000, the company’s proposal was to raise entry-level salaries to $46,500, Harshberger said, which has not been disclosed previously. The union also seeks to even out the wage compression that happened for higher jobs titles when Harper increased its starting pay to $45,000 in 2021. Harshberger also […]
Unions
Harper Union to Host Second Rally
The Harper Collins Union will host another strike rally outside parent company News Corp’s offices at 1211 Avenue of Americas in Manhattan on January 18 at 12:30 PM. The action follows a rally on December 16, and will mark the 50th business day of work stoppage in the strike that began on November 10. Harper employees were required to return to the office this week under the company’s hybrid plan, which expects employees to work in-person two days per week. (Yesterday, ceo of News Corp Robert Thomson sent a memo to company staff urging them to return to the office.) […]
AALA Survey: Agents Express “Robust Support” for Harper Collins Strike
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 […]
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, […]