SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Employees of HarperCollins Publishers participate in a one-day strike outside the publishing houses offices in Manhattan on July 20, 2022 in New York City. The union representing workers at the company announced a strike starting November 10, 2022. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
HarperCollins Employees Begin Indefinite Strike to Demand Fair Pay
"This is bigger than our paychecks, this is about trying to make change in an industry that we think is broken," said one worker.
Nov 10, 2022
Unionized employees at HarperCollins Publishers in New York began a work stoppage Thursday, walking out after seven months of working without a contract and nearly a year of negotiations for fair pay and benefits.
Workers from the prestigious publishing company's editorial, publicity, design, legal, and other departments are represented by Local 2110 of the UAW. The strike that began Thursday is set to go on for "as long as it takes" until executives meet the employees' demands, associate editor Stephanie Guerdan told The Guardian on Thursday.
"This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate."
"After about a week, the company is really going to feel the loss of all our essential labor," she said. "I've talked to friends who are not in the union, and their assessment of it has been, 'I don't think the company knows what's going to hit them.'"
More than 95% of the company's unionized workers voted last month to authorize the strike after negotiations stalled. In July, the workers held a one-day strike.
The employees are calling for the company to address its lack of diversity among the workforce and to provide better paid leave benefits and higher pay, which would enable them to afford to live where they work in New York City--one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. According to the union, the current starting salary at HarperCollins is $45,000 and the average salary is $55,000. The company reported record profits in 2021, according to The Guardian, and is owned by NewsCorp.
"Publishing has been deeply unwell for a while now," tweeted Rachel Kambury, an editor. "Years, if we're being honest with ourselves. For generations, the work of publishing has been a privilege for a select few: the well-educated, well-connected, comfortable few."
In an Instagram post this week, the HarperCollins union annotated a letter the company sent to employees, claiming they are paid competitive salaries.
"They're not competitive," said the union. "HarperCollins pays $52,000 for the same job Penguin Random House offers a minimum of $65,000 for."
Organizers expressed hope that the strike will be the first step toward a sea change in the publishing business, which has long been known for low pay, long hours, and an overwhelmingly white workforce.
"This is bigger than our paychecks, this is about trying to make change in an industry that we think is broken," Laura Harshberger, a senior production editor and the chair of the HarperCollins Union, told The New York Times. "This fight has really been focused on trying to make publishing a more diverse and equitable place that reflects our values and the books that we make."
A number of authors have expressed support for the union, including Lauren Groff, Alexander Chee, and Daniel Jose Older.
The union called on book reviewers to hold reviews and other content related to HarperCollins books, freelancers to decline new contracts with the company, and authors and literary agents to refrain from sending submissions to the company until the workers have a fair contract.
"A strike isn't something any of us union members are choosing to do lightly," said Kambury. "This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate and reach a deal that is meaningfully beneficial to the lowest paid and most overworked employees, most of whom are women, many of whom are women of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, or otherwise underrepresented in (and disproportionately impacted by) this industry."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Unionized employees at HarperCollins Publishers in New York began a work stoppage Thursday, walking out after seven months of working without a contract and nearly a year of negotiations for fair pay and benefits.
Workers from the prestigious publishing company's editorial, publicity, design, legal, and other departments are represented by Local 2110 of the UAW. The strike that began Thursday is set to go on for "as long as it takes" until executives meet the employees' demands, associate editor Stephanie Guerdan told The Guardian on Thursday.
"This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate."
"After about a week, the company is really going to feel the loss of all our essential labor," she said. "I've talked to friends who are not in the union, and their assessment of it has been, 'I don't think the company knows what's going to hit them.'"
More than 95% of the company's unionized workers voted last month to authorize the strike after negotiations stalled. In July, the workers held a one-day strike.
The employees are calling for the company to address its lack of diversity among the workforce and to provide better paid leave benefits and higher pay, which would enable them to afford to live where they work in New York City--one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. According to the union, the current starting salary at HarperCollins is $45,000 and the average salary is $55,000. The company reported record profits in 2021, according to The Guardian, and is owned by NewsCorp.
"Publishing has been deeply unwell for a while now," tweeted Rachel Kambury, an editor. "Years, if we're being honest with ourselves. For generations, the work of publishing has been a privilege for a select few: the well-educated, well-connected, comfortable few."
In an Instagram post this week, the HarperCollins union annotated a letter the company sent to employees, claiming they are paid competitive salaries.
"They're not competitive," said the union. "HarperCollins pays $52,000 for the same job Penguin Random House offers a minimum of $65,000 for."
Organizers expressed hope that the strike will be the first step toward a sea change in the publishing business, which has long been known for low pay, long hours, and an overwhelmingly white workforce.
"This is bigger than our paychecks, this is about trying to make change in an industry that we think is broken," Laura Harshberger, a senior production editor and the chair of the HarperCollins Union, told The New York Times. "This fight has really been focused on trying to make publishing a more diverse and equitable place that reflects our values and the books that we make."
A number of authors have expressed support for the union, including Lauren Groff, Alexander Chee, and Daniel Jose Older.
The union called on book reviewers to hold reviews and other content related to HarperCollins books, freelancers to decline new contracts with the company, and authors and literary agents to refrain from sending submissions to the company until the workers have a fair contract.
"A strike isn't something any of us union members are choosing to do lightly," said Kambury. "This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate and reach a deal that is meaningfully beneficial to the lowest paid and most overworked employees, most of whom are women, many of whom are women of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, or otherwise underrepresented in (and disproportionately impacted by) this industry."
From Your Site Articles
Unionized employees at HarperCollins Publishers in New York began a work stoppage Thursday, walking out after seven months of working without a contract and nearly a year of negotiations for fair pay and benefits.
Workers from the prestigious publishing company's editorial, publicity, design, legal, and other departments are represented by Local 2110 of the UAW. The strike that began Thursday is set to go on for "as long as it takes" until executives meet the employees' demands, associate editor Stephanie Guerdan told The Guardian on Thursday.
"This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate."
"After about a week, the company is really going to feel the loss of all our essential labor," she said. "I've talked to friends who are not in the union, and their assessment of it has been, 'I don't think the company knows what's going to hit them.'"
More than 95% of the company's unionized workers voted last month to authorize the strike after negotiations stalled. In July, the workers held a one-day strike.
The employees are calling for the company to address its lack of diversity among the workforce and to provide better paid leave benefits and higher pay, which would enable them to afford to live where they work in New York City--one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. According to the union, the current starting salary at HarperCollins is $45,000 and the average salary is $55,000. The company reported record profits in 2021, according to The Guardian, and is owned by NewsCorp.
"Publishing has been deeply unwell for a while now," tweeted Rachel Kambury, an editor. "Years, if we're being honest with ourselves. For generations, the work of publishing has been a privilege for a select few: the well-educated, well-connected, comfortable few."
In an Instagram post this week, the HarperCollins union annotated a letter the company sent to employees, claiming they are paid competitive salaries.
"They're not competitive," said the union. "HarperCollins pays $52,000 for the same job Penguin Random House offers a minimum of $65,000 for."
Organizers expressed hope that the strike will be the first step toward a sea change in the publishing business, which has long been known for low pay, long hours, and an overwhelmingly white workforce.
"This is bigger than our paychecks, this is about trying to make change in an industry that we think is broken," Laura Harshberger, a senior production editor and the chair of the HarperCollins Union, told The New York Times. "This fight has really been focused on trying to make publishing a more diverse and equitable place that reflects our values and the books that we make."
A number of authors have expressed support for the union, including Lauren Groff, Alexander Chee, and Daniel Jose Older.
The union called on book reviewers to hold reviews and other content related to HarperCollins books, freelancers to decline new contracts with the company, and authors and literary agents to refrain from sending submissions to the company until the workers have a fair contract.
"A strike isn't something any of us union members are choosing to do lightly," said Kambury. "This is our backed-into-a-corner, last-ditch-attempt to end a management-imposed stalemate and reach a deal that is meaningfully beneficial to the lowest paid and most overworked employees, most of whom are women, many of whom are women of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, or otherwise underrepresented in (and disproportionately impacted by) this industry."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.