BREAKING: INSIDER WORKERS ARE ON STRIKE

Open-ended ULP strike launched to protest management’s anti-union tactics, including illegally changing workers’ healthcare

06/02/2023

BREAKING: INSIDER WORKERS ARE ON STRIKE

Open-ended ULP strike launched to protest management’s anti-union tactics, including illegally changing workers’ healthcare

 

NEW YORK – Insider Union members began an open-ended strike that started at midnight last night after management refused to remedy its outstanding Unfair Labor Practices and reach a fair contract with workers on wages and lower health insurance costs. The members had set a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. June 1 for the company to reach resolution on their demands. The nearly 300 members of the Insider Union are represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

The Insider Union has been fighting for a first contract for more than two years, demanding the company bargain in good faith and reach a fair agreement on wages and lower health insurance costs. In November 2022, company leadership illegally changed the workers’ health insurance unilaterally, forcing them to spend more on healthcare while significantly reducing their coverage. 

In response, the Guild filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against Insider with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the company unlawfully changed workers’ health care coverage. In May 2023, the NLRB found merit with the union’s ULP and is issuing a complaint against the company.  

Today, after management refused to rectify their unlawful actions, members went on strike in protest. 

In April 2021, more than 300 employees at ​​Insider announced they had formed a union of workers across editorial, including reporters, editors, video producers, and designers. Insider Union was officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board the following June after workers voted 241-14 in favor of unionization.

The strike comes a day after workers at Gannett announced that they would be walking off the job starting on June 5, the day of Gannett’s annual shareholder meeting. Hundreds of union journalists in two dozen Gannett newsrooms from California to New York are expected to take part, in the largest collective action that Gannett employees have taken to date

“We have tried to bargain in good faith for about two years, but it’s clear that Insider is dragging its feet. We’ve shared harrowing stories of members facing increased costs for life-saving medications and necessary doctor visits, and management still won’t budge on rectifying their illegal change to our health insurance. I’m proud to take a stand with my fellow co-workers and go on strike today to demand the respect that we deserve. We’re united and we refuse to back down until the company recognizes our worth. We're the ones who keep Insider running, and it's time they started treating us like it,” said union steward Sindhu Sundar.

“Guild members working at Insider are demanding that the company rectify the harm caused by its unlawful decision to unilaterally change their health coverage. Many members now are paying hundreds more for essential medications and healthcare while Insider executives pocket the savings. I am proud to support Guild members who refuse to allow over-compensated executives to line their pockets at workers’ expense,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York.

 

Follow the Insider union on Twitter: @InsiderUnion.

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