The NewsGuild of New York — which represents staffers at several Condé Nast magazines — filed a unfair labor practice complaint Monday on behalf of members of The New Yorker union for what the guild characterized as management’s “attempts to intimidate and surveil union members as they participated in protected concerted activity.”
The complaint was issued in the wake of an all-staff meeting at The New Yorker on Nov. 30, during which management revealed layoffs, but offered no clarity on who would lose their jobs. After the meeting, according to the NewsGuild, several staffers proceeded to the executive suite to seek clarity about the layoffs. They were met with security guards “who stood watch” while the staffers pressed executive vice president Cameron Bruce for more information about the layoffs.
“All we wanted was answers,” Hannah Aizenman, associate poetry editor of The New Yorker and unit chair of The New Yorker Union, said in a statement released by the guild. “We should not have to march on the boss to get specifics and transparency about our co-workers losing their jobs. But we aren’t afraid to do it, even if there’s security.”
“This is a very troubling pattern of behavior by Condé Nast management,” said Susan DeCarva, president of the NewsGuild of New York.
The company, she continued, “has flatly refused to be transparent with the full union membership about why these layoffs are necessary. Our members have a right to demand answers from company leadership without being illegally surveilled and having security called on them. Management’s response speaks volumes about how they view the workers who have contributed to the company’s successful expansion.”
In a statement to WWD, a Condé Nast spokesperson said that the company’s security staff did not interfere with union members engaged in various office demonstrations.
“We fully respect our employees’ right to organize and have repeatedly attempted to bargain with the union in good faith about a proposal made over a month ago. They have yet to respond,” said the spokesperson. “Contrary to the allegation, while some engaged in office demonstrations over the last many weeks, our security team followed standard building security protocol and did not engage with any union member.”
A current of dread has been thrumming through the offices of Condé Nast for weeks, since chief executive officer Roger Lynch on Nov. 1 revealed the company would institute a 5 percent staff reduction (or about 300 employees) across its numerous titles. The announcement of layoffs followed a top-line restructuring in October across editorial, content development and branded content that saw Condé Nast Entertainment head Agnes Chu leave the company.
Now staffers throughout the company’s U.S. titles — including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Allure, Self and Glamour — are speculating that the cuts could be far deeper, with few if any titles in the Condé Nast firmament unscathed.
The NewsGuild of New York represents hundreds of workers across Condé Nast titles including Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, GQ, Self, Teen Vogue, Them, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, Pitchfork, Ars Technica and Condé Nast Entertainment.
In his November memo, Lynch, who was named Condé Nast CEO in 2019, said that layoffs would unfold “over the next few months.”
He explained that the “global transformation” that was instituted at the start of his tenure had yielded results, including doubling “digital subscription starts” in 2023 and a 44 percent increase in e-commerce this year on top of what he characterized as “very solid growth” in 2022.
