Dozens of unionized New Yorker staffers protested a screening of the new Netflix documentary, “The New Yorker at 100,” on Thursday evening in response to parent company Condé Nast’s recent controversial firings.
“This evening, at the Paris Theater [in New York City], dozens of New Yorker Union members passed out flyers to hundreds of filmgoers at a premiere screening of ‘THE NEW YORKER AT 100,’ a new documentary on Netflix,” the New Yorker Union shared in a statement on X Thursday.
“We won’t be intimidated by union busting, and we won’t stop fighting until our colleagues are reinstated,” the union continued. “The legacy and future of the magazine depends on it.”
Protestors handed out fliers and stickers outside the screening, encouraging attendees to wear them into the film. The leaflets criticized the company for “union-busting like it’s 1925,” a reference to the 100-year anniversary celebrated in the film. The material also called out Condé Nast, who they claimed “retaliate[d] against our union co-workers who dared to question layoffs across the company — violating both our contract and federal law.”
The documentary, directed by Marshall Curry and set to release on Netflix Friday, goes behind-the-scenes of the esteemed cultural publication, which celebrated its centennial in 2025. Julianne Moore narrates the project, which premiered at Telluride Film Festival in August.
Representatives for Netflix and Condé Nast did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
TheWrap exclusively obtained video on Nov. 6 of a tense confrontation between Condé Nast editorial staff and their head of HR, which led to four firings for “extreme misconduct.” Among the four fired was Jasper Lo, a senior fact checker at The New Yorker; Jake Lahut, a senior politics reporter for WIRED; Alma Avalle, a digital staffer at Bon Appétit; and Ben Dewey, a video staffer with Condé Nast Entertainment.
In addition to firing the four employees, Condé Nast filed a federal complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the union’s parent union, the NewsGuild of New York, for violating its contract.
“Extreme misconduct is unacceptable in any professional setting. This includes aggressive, disruptive, and threatening behavior of any kind,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We have a responsibility to provide a workplace where every employee feels respected and able to do their job without harassment or intimidation. We also cannot ignore behavior that crosses the line into targeted harassment and disruption of business operations.”
However, as we previously reported, the video of the confrontation did not appear to show “extreme misconduct” or threatening behavior.
The union also said in a statement that the company was violating the contract’s just cause protections and its “federally protected rights as union members to participate in a collective action.”
“As journalists, it is our members’ job to hold power to account and ask difficult questions,” the union said in November.
Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, also noted that the video “speaks for itself.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the protest at “The New Yorker at 100” screening.
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