Breaking: We have a deal! The Insider Union strike is officially OVER
Friendship bracelets on the picket line. Irene Kim
The Insider Union went on an open-ended unfair labor practice strike after two years of bargaining on June 2.
The strike lasted for 13 days; during this time, three more ULPs were filed by The NewsGuild.
Finally, on Wednesday, an industry-defining deal for a contract was reached. Read more below.
Some personal-slash-professional news: We have reached a tentative agreement on a contract!
After 13 days of striking, multiple company-wide emails from management with various untruths, friendship bracelets distributed on the picket line, and tons of support (and lunch) sent from other unions, a tentative agreement has been made for an industry-defining contract. It’s never an easy decision to go on strike — and was not one the Insider Union made lightly — but after two years of bargaining, it’s proven well worth it, and we are excited to get back to work with our new wins.
“We won this deal because we stood together out there,” Juliana Kaplan, a senior labor and inequality reporter at Insider and Insider Union bargaining committee member, told the Washington Post.
Members of the Insider Union picket outside One Liberty Plaza. Irene Kim
We’ll be voting as a union to ratify our contract soon, but in the meantime, here’s some of what we’ve won after two years of bargaining and our grueling strike:
Just cause, no exceptions, from day one of employment
Layoff moratorium through the end of the year for union members
A salary floor of $65k
Immediate raises of 3.5% for the vast majority of union members, followed by 3.75% raises in 2024 and 3% raises in 2025
A commitment of more than $400,000 in healthcare cost reimbursements over the course of the agreement.
“There is power in a union, and this tentative agreement with Insider reflects the power of this unionized newsroom. Insider management may have thought that their union-busting would break our solidarity, but instead, we’ve become stronger,” Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York, said in a press release.
“We’re redefining what journalists can expect to win in the workplace,” DeCarava continued. “I am inspired by the courage of our members at Insider Union. They’ve demonstrated — quite literally on a picket line — that when workers come together and fight for their worth, anything is possible. Especially a strong contract!”
These wins are iron-clad, and they can’t be taken away. But the positive effect of these gains touches more than our union members; it sets a standard for the industry, the way other hard-won contracts have helped pave the way for us. When we fight together — and win — it shows what can be done as a unit, and lets other unions know they don’t have to settle for less than what they’re worth.
And with that, Business Outsider will be shuttering, the digital picket line is over. We will all be heading back to work at Insider stronger than ever, and you can resume clicking our links. Thanks for reading!
Business Outsider is a strike publication of Insider Union, which is a unit of The NewsGuild of New York.