The publishing giant Condé Nast paid three journalists a total of more than $400,000 to settle a dispute over their firing last fall after they confronted the head of human resources about layoffs, the union representing the workers said on Wednesday.
As part of the agreement, Condé Nast reversed the firings so the employees could resign instead and gave them letters of recommendation, the union said. The journalists had worked at Bon Appétit, The New Yorker and Condé Nast Entertainment.
“We fought because we had to, because so much of an equitable future as workers and journalists depends on our combined efforts to resist inhumane treatment,” one of the former employees, Jasper Lo, who was a senior fact checker at The New Yorker, said in a statement.
A fourth fired employee, Jake Lahut, who had recently been hired as a political writer for Wired, declined a settlement offer. The union, the NewsGuild of New York, said a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board on his behalf remained active.
Mr. Lahut said on social media that he had been offered four months of back pay. “In the absence of a serious offer, I’m looking forward to my day in court,” he said.
The fired employees were part of a group who participated in a march in November to ask executives inside Condé Nast’s headquarters in Manhattan about recent layoffs and changes, including folding Teen Vogue into Vogue. Shortly after, The Wrap, an online publication covering the entertainment business, posted a video of an interaction between the workers and Stan Duncan, the chief people officer. The video showed the workers confronting Mr. Duncan about the company’s decisions while he walks away and directs them to go back to work. Four of the workers involved were fired, and five were suspended, setting off widespread internal protest over the disciplinary actions. Those who were suspended have been awarded back pay for each day of their suspension and cleared of all wrongdoing on their disciplinary records, the union said.
The union accused Condé Nast of acting illegally and violating “just cause” provisions in the employees’ union contracts. The union also argued that the company had violated federal labor law.
“This settlement sends a forceful message: Workers united in solidarity have the power to push back against bully union-busting bosses and demand their workplaces be governed by respect rather than fear,” said Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York, which also represents some employees at The New York Times.
Later on Wednesday, Condé Nast sent an email to staff about the settlement.
“As part of the agreement, both parties expressly denied wrongdoing or liability,” said the email, which was viewed by The Times. “We also agreed to convert three employee discharges to resignations, but nobody will be reinstated. Those employees accepted terms for severance and will no longer be at the company.
“For the employees who were suspended, we have removed their suspensions, but they are on notice that similar activities in the future may lead to disciplinary action.”
The company declined to comment beyond the email.
Katie Robertson covers the media industry for The Times. Email: [email protected]
The post Condé Nast Pays Over $400,000 to 3 Journalists Fired Over Protest appeared first on New York Times.
