Last week brought both celebration and heartbreak for the merged, wall-to-wall union at Calmatters and The Markup Guild. On March 10, after months of tough negotiations, workers ratified a strong first contract that delivers essential protections, benefits and raises for members.
Some key wins include:
- Just Cause protections – Ensuring fair treatment and job security.
- Improved benefits – 14 holidays, 5 months of paid parental leave, a paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s, and creative leave to support projects like books and fellowships.
- Affordable healthcare – The company will cover 95% of health insurance premiums for employees and their dependents.
- AI safeguards – Any published work produced with generative AI must be clearly labeled, and no employee’s position can be replaced by AI.
- Intellectual property rights – Strong protections for employees’ work and book rights.
- Stronger severance – A minimum of 10 weeks’ severance for those impacted by layoffs.
- Higher wages – Salary floors tied to industry experience, leading to significant pay increases for nearly a fifth of our unit.
Just days after ratification, management announced layoffs impacting seven members. Up to five more would have joined them were it not for savings the union suggested.
“We are devastated to lose such kind and smart colleagues who did crucial and impactful work here,” said Unit Chair Jeremia Kimelman. “We would be more than happy to connect them with anyone looking to add exceptional talent to their newsroom.”
This bittersweet moment reminds us why we organize. Our fight for fairness, security and respect in the workplace doesn’t stop here.