After months of negotiations over its first contract and proposed layoffs, the Condé Nast Union announced a majority of members — representing titles including Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and Bon Appétit — have pledged “to walk off the job” if progress is not made on contract negotiations, which have “moved at a glacial pace” according to a statement from the NewsGuild of New York, the union’s organising body.
The union delivered the announcement through a video at a bargaining session today, promising “a week of union actions” in the statement. It comes a week before the Met Gala, which is sponsored by Condé Nast, hosted by Anna Wintour, Vogue editor-in-chief and Condé Nast chief content officer and is historically staffed by Vogue employees.
”Our members are committed to getting this contract,” said Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York in the statement. “They will not settle for anything less than a deal that honours the value they bring and their contributions to Condé’s success.”
Condé Nast did not respond to a request for comment.
The union has been negotiating its first contract with Condé Nast management since its formation in 2022. In November 2023, Condé Nast announced plans to lay off five percent of its workforce, which includes 17 percent of the union’s members. Since then, tense negotiations over the contract and layoffs have ensued, and according to the union, have recently stalled. Both the NewsGuild and Condé Nast management have lodged unfair labour practice complaints against one another with the National Labor Relations Board over their respective bargaining practices.
As negotiations have continued, the union has attempted to turn up the pressure on Condé Nast management. In January, 400 staffers staged a one-day walk out on the day Oscar nominations were announced, a high-traffic day for many Condé properties. Last week, on April 25, members marched through Wintour’s neighbourhood, New York’s Greenwich Village, chanting “Condé Nasty you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side,” and carrying posters that read “Bosses Wear Prada, Workers Get Nada.”
Learn more:
Condé Nast Set to Lay Off 5 Percent of Workforce
The publisher of titles like Vogue and Vanity Fair announced in a note sent to employees on Tuesday that it would lay off 5 percent of its workforce — around 270 employees, primarily in its video division, Condé Nast Entertainment — following a restructuring.
