Dear friends and colleagues,
We are thrilled to share that our union has officially been certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
We won our election in a decisive 388-130 vote and will now proceed to negotiating our first contract together as the largest union in trade publishing history.
Take a moment to sit with that. Each of us decided to fight for better benefits, stronger protections, and increased equity, transparency, and agency in our workplace, and we WON!
And this is only the beginning!
Stay tuned for our first all-unit meeting where we’ll discuss next steps. Let’s talk about what comes next, including our leadership structure, how we’ll establish our bargaining priorities, and more. You have a seat at that table now, so pull up a chair!
Join us this week at various locations across the US and Canada and online to celebrate together! (Check our newsletter for more info.)
Looking back at how we got here
It’s been quite a journey, so we want to celebrate all of the great work we’ve all done to get here today:
- Unions aren’t built overnight, and our victory was the culmination of YEARS of behind-the-scenes organizing around publishing books ethically, returning to the office safely and equitably, and affirming employee protections to officially unionize (see: Publishers Marketplace, Chicago Review of Books, Publishing Confidential).
- We had an incredible campaign launch week, with coworkers coming together to share why we need a union and why now is the time. We hosted a rally attended by supporters and unions from across industries. And our open letter was signed by over 2,400 local electeds, authors, agents, booksellers, fellow publishing workers, union members, friends, family, and readers.
- We held happy hours, office hours, and cross-publisher panels where we got to know each other and talked about our ideas for the future. For many, this was the first time meeting colleagues from across the company, and there was a lot of joy in building solidarity and new friendships.
- We stood union strong!
With joy, and in solidarity,
The Organizing Committee