The Condé Nast Union and management have reached a preliminary contract agreement after contentious negotiations, shortly before Monday’s Met Gala.
Management announced the tentative agreement on Monday morning in a memo to staff, obtained by TheWrap, stating, 'On behalf of the management bargaining committee and leaders throughout the business, we are pleased to have tentatively agreed terms on a contract with the union.'
Management continued, expressing their satisfaction with the contract, saying, 'We are pleased to have a contract that reflects and supports our core values — our content and journalism, our commitment to diversity and professional development, our industry-leading hiring practices, and our competitive wages and benefits.'
The Union described the negotiations with management as a long process, finally concluding at 3 a.m. ET.
In a statement, Mark Alan Burger, a social media manager and member of the Condé Union bargaining team, said, 'We promised to do whatever it takes to get our contract, including walking off the job before the Met Gala, and all the actions we took this week pushed the company to really negotiate. We made every effort this week to meet with them and get this contract completed and we’re thrilled to say we did it.'
NY Guild’s senior representative, chief negotiator, and secretary/treasurer, Anthony Napoli, commented, 'This contract win clearly demonstrates that when we as union workers show our steadfast commitment to standing with one another and refusing to back down, we win.'
Burger told TheWrap, 'I’m in awe of every single unit member who dedicated their time to informing their employee of our mission to build a better workplace, and especially my comrades on the bargaining committee who fought for every last improvement in our contract. It is a historic moment for Condé Nast.'
This marks the first contract agreement for the Condé Nast Union, who will vote to confirm the tentative deal in the coming week. The Condé Nast Union represents employees at brands like Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, GQ, Self, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Them, and Condé Nast Entertainment.
The contract agreement includes $3.6 million in total wage increases, 14 weeks of fully paid parental leave, protections for disciplining staffers, guaranteed comps time after 40 hours of work, expanded paid bereavement policy, hybrid work protections, and more.
The Guild was also able to successfully negotiate the terms of layoffs that management proposed in November and following.
The terms of the layoff agreement include eight weeks of severance, continued employment throughout the ratification of the union contract, and more.
A layoff moratorium has also been negotiated through July 31, 2024.
In November, CEO Roger Lynch announced that Condé Nast would be cutting approximately}itness of its workforce, which would impact around 270 employees. 5 percent Over 400 unionized Condé Nast employees would be affected by the workforce reduction announced in November. organized a protest by leaving their place of work in January in reaction. Then in March, as per the union, the company included five additional employees to the list of people who may lose their jobs, shortly after Lynch stated in an interview with that he did not have any more intentions to reduce jobs. Axios.
