Condé Nast agrees on 400,000 US dollar settlement with three fired employees

Global media company Condé Nast settled an ongoing labor dispute, reaching a 400,000 US dollar settlement with three former employees, who were fired last year after a confrontation with the company’s head of human resources.

The three employees, including Jasper Lo, a New Yorker fact-checker, Alma Avalle, a Bon Appétit writer and producer, and Ben Dewey, a Condé Nast Entertainment videographer, were also reinstated at Condé Nast, but chose to resign rather than return to work, according to a statement from NewsGuild of New York, a union for news professionals. A fourth employee, Wired senior writer Jake Lahut, declined a lesser settlement offer and decided to continue his legal battle against Condé Nast.

The four unionized Condé Nast employees were fired last November, and another five were suspended, after taking part in a “march on the boss” movement the previous November. The employees reportedly wanted information regarding abrupt layoffs at several of Condé Nast’s brands, including Wired, and consolidation at Teen Vogue. The employees went to Condé Nast’s headquarters to speak to executives inside. 

The Wrap posted a video online of an interaction between the employees and Stan Duncan, chief people officer, which showed Duncan telling the employees that they could not gather outside his office and must return to work. 

Following the dismissal of the four employees and the suspension of the other five, the union immediately filed grievances, as well as Unfair Labor Practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). “We fought because we had to, because so much of an equitable future as workers and journalists depends on our combined efforts to resist inhumane treatment,” said Jasper Lo, formerly a senior fact checker at The New Yorker, in a statement from the NewsGuild. 

“There is no reason for us to feel disempowered by companies and work in the fear that they create. Not only can we stand up for what’s right, but we can also set the tone for what is acceptable in a workplace,” he added. In addition to the settlements, the five suspended workers have been awarded back pay for each day of their suspension and cleared of all wrongdoing on their disciplinary records, said the union. 

The union alleged that Condé Nast had acted unlawfully, contravened the “just cause” provisions outlined in employees' union contracts, and breached federal labour law in the process. “Our fight as a union is about more than a single contract; it is about ensuring workers’ rights to a just workplace,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, in a statement. 

“When employers attempt to undermine our rights, we will organize, fight back, and hold them accountable. This settlement sends a forceful message: workers united in solidarity have the power to push back against bully union-busting bosses and demand their workplaces be governed by respect rather than fear.”