Ira Stoll writes for the Washington Free Beacon about an interesting challenge for one left-of-center news outlet.
ProPublica, which describes itself as “an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force,” but is in reality a left-wing investigative outlet bankrolled by left-wing foundations, left-wing donors, and anonymous benefactors, is facing a possible strike by workers who formed a union in 2023 but say management has been “unwilling to accept basic union protections” after more than two years of contract negotiations.
Employees picketed ProPublica offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Austin, and Chicago earlier this month, toting signs that said “Ready to Strike” and “ProPublica Workers Deserve Fair Pay.” They appear to have been accompanied by a large inflatable rat, a frequent tool used by organized labor to depict management and non-union labor as vermin. The union has also raised more than $24,000 toward a strike fund to replace wages if workers go out.
“We are prepared to walk off the job and forgo our paychecks to advocate for our members, for ProPublica readers and, now with the looming threat of AI, for the integrity of accountability journalism itself,” the GoFundMe page for the would-be-strikers says.
“We are fighting for a fair contract that includes industry-standard ‘just cause’ job security, a fair and transparent disciplinary process, union steward representation when requested and guardrails ensuring artificial intelligence does not replace journalists. Our management has said no to all these common-sense protections that we deserve,” a petition circulated by the union says.
A ProPublica spokesman said the organization “is committed to reaching a fair and sustainable first contract” and has “already reached agreement on more than a dozen topics.”
“We continue to work through the remaining issues, including wages and benefits, discipline, and the use of AI. These discussions mirror those taking place at many news organizations and the timeline and process here are consistent with bargaining across the industry,” the spokesman said.
