Contact: Jen Sheehan, jen@nyguid.org, 610-573-0740
NEW YORK – Unionized editorial workers at Law360 — who have had enough of parent company LexisNexis execs’ illegal tactics and stalling at the bargaining table — will hold a one-day strike on Wednesday, highlighted by a mid-afternoon rally and a day-long picket line outside corporate headquarters in New York City.
Readers of the legal news service are urged not to cross the digital picket line Wednesday.
The work stoppage comes after The NewsGuild of New York filed an unfair labor practice charge on behalf of Law360 Union against LexisNexis on Tuesday. The basis of the charge is a Nov. 16 bargaining session in which LexisNexis representatives threatened Guild members with less favorable terms the longer negotiations continue. Regressive bargaining is a form of bad faith bargaining, in which one side moves backwards, offering less on a proposal than they had previously offered.
“Instead of working today, we are gathering together, refusing to work and standing up for a fair contract,” said Hailey Konnath, a reporter for the LexisNexis-owned legal news site and unit chair for the union. “LexisNexis needs to understand that we will not back down and today they will see that in full effect as we picket outside their headquarters.”
Contract negotiations between the union, which represents nearly 300 workers, and LexisNexis began on Nov. 17, 2022. The union’s current contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022.
For more than a year, management has refused to respond (either at all, or meaningfully) to proposals including sick time, parental leave, paid time off, and retirement
“Law360 Union members work hard to make the company a success and LexisNexis needs to recognize their contributions with good faith proposals that meaningfully address our concerns,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. “Anything less is unacceptable and will lead to further labor strife.”
WALKOUT DETAILS
- Workers will march in a day-long picket line beginning at 10:30 a.m. outside LexisNexis headquarters at 230 Park Ave. in Manhattan. At 2 p.m, the Guild will hold a rally on the north side of the building on 46th Street featuring speakers including NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava and members of the Law360 Union.
- Throughout the walkout: Law360 members at offices around the country will gather via Zoom.
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ABOUT THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK
The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, is a labor union representing nearly 6,000 media professionals and other employees at New York area news organizations, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Thomson Reuters, The Nation, TIME, PEOPLE, Wirecutter, and The Daily Beast. The NewsGuild of New York advocates for journalists to have a voice in the newsroom, for press freedom, for inclusive and diverse workplaces, and for just cause, no exceptions, for all media professionals.