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, Vogue, Glamour, GQ 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 organizing body.
As The Business of Fashion (BOF) reports, 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 global 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 honors the value they bring and their contributions to Condé’s success.” According to BOF, Condé Nast has not yet responded 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. On April 25, members marched through Wintour’s neighborhood, 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.”
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