MEDIA CONTACTS:
OUP USA Guild / oupusaguildnyc@gmail.com
Luis Espinosa / News Media Guild / 720-261-4578 / lespinosao@icloud.com
WHAT: Members of the Oxford University Press USA Guild (a unit of the News Guild-CWA Local
31222) will stage a one-day strike after filing several Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges against the
employer. This strike follows nearly three years of contract negotiations with Oxford University Press.
Speakers will include members of the Guild, News Media Guild President Vin Cherwoo, IAPE 1096
representative Marissa Dadiw, OUP author and labor historian Shannan Clark, and others.
WHO: The Guild represents approximately 150 employees of OUP USA. They voted to form a union in
September 2021.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 18, 2024, 8 AM-12 PM
WHERE: OUP USA Offices: 545 5th Ave (on 45th St. between 5th and Madison Ave), NYC 10017
WHY: Oxford University Press has repeatedly violated US labor law and has refused to bargain about
remedies to these violations.
The ULPs are as follows:
- Moving work outside the unit: The employer, across multiple instances, hired people outside of
the Guild’s jurisdiction after bargaining unit members left the company. If this practice is allowed
to continue, the very existence of the Guild itself is threatened.- In mid-March, Region 2 of the NLRB found merit in 6 of the 7 the charges filed by the Guild, but nearly three months later it has not filed the official complaints, which has emboldened the Employer to double down on violating the law.
- Illegal and retaliatory layoff of union leader: The employer laid off Unit Chair Scott Morales without previously bargaining with the Guild about that decision as required by US labor law.
- Withholding pay review/raises: The Guild is filing a ULP for the employer’s decision not to offer pay review/raises to Guild members until a collective bargaining agreement has been signed or ratified, another violation of the Guild’s rights under status quo protection.
- Retaliatory action for protected communication: An employee was disciplined for an email signature that contained a message about their working conditions. Communicating about working conditions is protected concerted activity under federal labor law.