The Insider Union is officially on strike. Here's what we're asking for from management.
Insider Union members picket outside One Liberty Plaza on the first day of the Union’s ULP strike on Friday. Irene Kim
The Insider Union began an indefinite strike on Friday, June 2.
Company management failed to agree on a fair contract to settle issues.
Here’s what to know about the strike, and what’s on the line for our members.
The Insider Union officially began an indefinite Unfair Labor Practice strike on Friday, June 2 after the company’s management failed to remedy the ULP, as well as come to agreement on several issues, such as fair salaries, wages, and healthcare.
This is not a decision Insider Union made lightly; a strike means we’re not getting paid to do the jobs we love, and we wish it didn’t have to come to this. But it’s long overdue that management meets us at the bargaining table with a fair agreement.
One of the biggest issues is healthcare. At the end of last year, Insider illegally changed its employee’s insurance from UnitedHealthcare to Cigna without negotiating the switch with the Union — a violation of the status quo. The switch in providers raised costs for many employees on their insurance coverage, medication, and copays.
In the wake of Insider’s unilateral change, our union, The NewsGuild of New York filed an Unfair Labor Practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board, which found merit in the complaint. Despite this, the company has not settled with the Guild to remedy the increased healthcare costs to workers. In the future the Union legally needs to be notified and have the option to bargain over these plans.
Insider Union is also asking for better wages for Insider employees. Our proposal aims to increase annual raises, bring the salary floor to $65,000, and give employees bonuses after they’ve been at Insider for certain amounts of time.
We’re also fighting for journalism as an essential function of our democracy. Insider Union has made proposals including a guarantee that workers will not be replaced by AI and a joint labor-management committee to evaluate the effects — both positive and negative — of AI/tech in the newsroom. Insider has rejected these proposals.
We hope we can resolve this soon so we can get back to doing our jobs. Just like our CEO Henry Blodget said in a recent company-wide email discussing the strike, “each of us is important to our success” — we just want to be valued for the work that we do here.
Business Outsider is a strike publication of Insider Union which is a unit of The NewsGuild of New York.
Follow our Twitter for updates on the strike, and if you enjoyed this content and would like to throw in some cash for our members who are losing wages every day that we strike for a fair contract, feel free to visit our hardship fundraiser here. Wanna help us tell the boss to reach a deal? Let Nich Carlson and Henry Blodget know you support us by sending a letter.