An impartial arbitrator ruled on Monday that Oxford University Press violated its contract with Guild members when it laid off 13 workers in 2024. The arbitrator ordered the company to resolve the issue with the News Media Guild, the NewsGuild-CWA local that represents workers at Oxford University Press. If the parties can’t agree on a remedy, the arbitrator will provide one by November.
“The ruling is historic,” said Tony Winton, the News Media Guild’s executive director, “because it vindicates language in many NewsGuild contracts negotiated to limit offshoring and use of non-bargaining unit personnel.”
Workers first organized in 2021 and won a collective agreement in 2024. Shortly after the agreement was signed, management fired staff and transferred their work out to the United Kingdom, violating the jurisdiction article in the contract.
The arbitrator wrote that the employer violated Article 1, Section 4 of the contract “when it laid off the 13 bargaining unit employees because of the assignment or reassignment of the protected work to non-unit employees.”
The contract says that the “employer may assign or reassign work currently being performed by the bargaining unit…provided that such assignment does not result in the layoff, demotion, or diminution of employment status of any bargaining unit employee…”
The arbitrator wrote that the Guild’s presentation included extensive evidence supporting the Guild’s argument.
“The News Media Guild expects employers to honor written agreements when it comes to job security terms and provisions like offshoring,” said Kimberlee Kruesi, the Guild’s acting president. “We call on Oxford to quickly restore the work it illegally removed from the U.S. without further delay.”
Management is also currently trying to offshore finance jobs in the United Kingdom and members of the UNITE union responded by going on strike.
“I’m hopeful that this verdict coming now could help save the jobs of the UK staff they are currently trying to lay off,” said Rachel Perkins, the former lead designer for Academic Book Covers.
The layoffs came after the Press announced $50 million in profits last year.
Workers launched a petition demanding that Oxford University reverse the layoff decision in the U.K. and respect workers’ right to organize collectively.
The Guild has also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. The case is pending, however, the agency indicated that the Guild’s case has merit and the agency plans to move toward a complaint and a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Photo: Oxford University Press workers on strike in June 2024