Nearly 400 union members who work at Condé Nast brands will be holding a 24-hour work stoppage on Tuesday to protest negotiation practices that they claim are unlawful.
The work stoppage coincides with the announcement of the 2024 Oscar nominations, which will take place Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Employees at Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Allure, Condé Nast Entertainment, Architectural Digest, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue and other Condé Nast publications are set to walk out and hold a rally in front of the company’s offices in New York.
The Condé Nast Union shared its potential walkout plans last Thursday on X/Twitter: “Our longest yeah boy ever: Nearly 400 of us have pledged to STOP WORK when our bargaining committee calls for a 24 hour walk out. RT to tell @CondeNast you stand with workers: stop breaking the law, stop union busting, and stop the layoffs. Keep your eyes here for more soon.”
Back in November of last year, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch announced that the company will lay off upwards of 300 employees and take other cost-reduction measures to improve efficiency.
“We’ve also had to make the difficult decision to implement reductions among our dedicated teams,” Lynch wrote in a memo. “These reductions will take place over the next few months and total approximately 5% of all staff roles. There is no easy way to share this news and our focus will be on making this transition as easy as possible for our dedicated colleagues with enhanced severance packages and career service offerings.”
Last week, Condé Nast merged Pitchfork with men’s magazineGQ — resulting in layoffs at the digital music publication, including the exit of editor-in-chief Puja Patel.
Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, explained the changes in a memo to company staff, writing, “Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. This decision was made after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company.”
SAG-AFTRA was among the many entertainment industry unions to voice support for Condé Nast staffers. The spirit of union solidarity in Hollywood’s creative community that bolstered SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America during last year’s long strikes was evident in the strong support voiced for Condé Nast workers by top stars. To wit, actor Anne Hathaway abruptly departed a Vanity Fair photo shoot on Tuesday morning as the walkout began.
“Employers like Condé Nast are legally and morally obligated to bargain in good faith with their workers, so it’s alarming that Condé Nast executives are employing regressive, union-busting tactics and making unfair counter proposals,” said SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Condé Nast workers have the full backing of SAG-AFTRA. Our union demands that all workers have fair treatment, job security, and sustainable compensation — including severance pay when applicable. We applaud these workers taking action to defend their livelihoods, and we encourage everyone to recognize the Condé Nast picket line and join us in supporting this promising new era of worker empowerment.”
