New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James joined a Condé Nast union rally on Wednesday, calling on the corporate to reinstate 4 fired staffers who had a confrontation with the corporate’s HR head.
“Let’s be clear: New York is a union city,” James mentioned. “Let’s even be clear: the suitable to prepare is enshrined in our legal guidelines. And because the legal professional common of the state of New York, it is my whole accountability to make sure that the legal guidelines are enforced.”
“Condé Nast, I will see you in court docket,” she mentioned.
The gathering befell outdoors Condé Nast’s headquarters in New York’s 1 World Commerce Middle on Wednesday to protest the firing of 4 unionized staffers and suspension of 5 of its different members.
These staffers had confronted Condé Nast’s HR chief, Stan Duncan, in regards to the firm’s determination earlier this month to fold Teen Vogue into the Vogue flagship website and lay off a number of of its staffers. The episode was partially captured in a widely viewed video revealed by TheWrap.
Condé Nast mentioned in an inside memo that it “took disciplinary motion in opposition to staff who have been engaged in harassing and intimidating conduct that interfered with our enterprise operations.” The corporate additionally mentioned the actions violated its collective bargaining settlement with the union and that it had filed a cost with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board.
“Most individuals acknowledge that the misconduct exhibited by union members final week would not be acceptable in any office,” an organization spokesperson mentioned. “Their employment was terminated with trigger, as they have been in violation of our firm insurance policies.”
The Wednesday rally was organized by The NewsGuild of New York and Condé Nast Union, its unit representing round 500 individuals throughout a couple of dozen Condé Nast titles, together with Self-importance Truthful, The New Yorker, and GQ, in addition to Teen Vogue. The union additionally filed grievances with the corporate and expenses with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board, demanding that the firings and disciplines be rescinded. (The NewsGuild additionally represents Enterprise Insider staff.)
Teen Vogue, which launched in 2003 as a print shiny and was scaled again to on-line solely in 2017, has a historical past of political activism, and the union referred to as the layoffs an try by the corporate to silence its cultural and political journalism.
Condé Nast mentioned the Teen Vogue consolidation was a part of a broader push to “broaden the Vogue ecosystem” and mentioned Teen Vogue would stay a definite editorial property with its personal id and mission.
Condé Nast staff joined a companywide union in 2022 after a few of its particular person magazines unionized. In 2024, round 500 staged a one-day walkout to protest deliberate layoffs.
