ProPublica Unionized Staff Strike Over AI Use, Layoffs, and Wages

Approximately 150 unionized staff members at ProPublica, one of the country's leading nonprofit newsrooms, walked off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday in a strike over stalled contract negotiations. The ProPublica Guild, which formed in 2023, is seeking a collective bargaining agreement that addresses AI implementation protections, just cause provisions for disciplining or firing employees, layoff protections, and wages after more than two years of negotiations. The union has asked the public to honor a digital picket line during the work stoppage. The strike represents a significant labor action at a prominent investigative journalism organization as media workers nationwide grapple with AI technology and job security concerns.

ProPublica Guild 24-Hour Strike Action

• ▪ProPublica is one of the country's leading nonprofit newsrooms.
• ▪Unionized staff at ProPublica are walking off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild has roughly 150 members.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild is asking the public to honor a digital picket line during the strike.

Key Bargaining Issues: AI Protections, Job Security, and Wages

• ▪Protections around the use of AI are among the key issues in contention in ProPublica Guild negotiations.
• ▪Just cause provisions around disciplining or firing an employee are among the key issues in contention in ProPublica Guild negotiations.

Timeline and Context of Union Negotiations

• ▪Katie Campbell is a ProPublica Guild member.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild has been working to resolve bargaining issues for over two years.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild is in the midst of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
• ▪ProPublica staff unionized in 2023.

Perspective of ProPublica Guild

• ▪The ProPublica Guild views the 24-hour strike as a response to prolonged bargaining delays spanning over two years.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild is requesting public support through honoring a digital picket line during the work stoppage.
• ▪The ProPublica Guild considers AI protections a critical workplace issue requiring contractual safeguards.

Perspective of ProPublica management

• ▪ProPublica management is negotiating with the ProPublica Guild over a first collective bargaining agreement since staff unionized in 2023.

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