ProPublica Management Continues to Fight Basic Union Protections After Two Years of Bargaining

More than two years into bargaining, ProPublica’s management is unwilling to accept basic union protections, even on provisions that would uphold the organization’s foundational principles of transparency and accountability. Why won’t ProPublica leadership agree to a contract that upholds both the organization’s ethics as well as the promises made to its staff and readers?

Here’s a rundown of some of management’s worst positions at the bargaining table.

Management won’t commit to standard job security or layoff protections.

Management has rejected straightforward job protections and due process around discipline. Known as “just cause,” this protection would make our journalism stronger, as it would empower employees to speak up without fear when we see concerns that need to be addressed.

ProPublica management has zealously taken up the fight of its outside legal counsel, Kauff, McGuire & Margolis LLP, which has made a name for itself undermining these protections for journalists in particular. Meanwhile, ProPublica’s existing “discipline” system remains broken and arbitrary, with opaque “performance improvement plans” used as a pretext for termination.

Additionally, management has rejected basic layoff protections, including the use of seniority in deciding who will be hit by those layoffs. This nearly universal element of union contracts ensures that layoffs cannot be used as an end run around Just Cause to target workers management doesn’t like. Management has also refused to codify a promise it has repeatedly made to staff, prospective hires and donors to use the organization’s ample reserve fund to avert layoffs in the event of a fundraising downturn.

Management refuses to agree to guardrails around artificial intelligence.

ProPublica management has rejected common-sense guardrails around the use of AI.

For example, we proposed that workers will not be replaced by AI and that potential future published work supplemented by the use of AI will be clearly labeled. We have heard time and again from our readers that this is what they expect. Management has said “no” to both proposals.

At our bargaining session last Monday, we again told management that we deserve a contract that will protect our workers and the quality of the journalism we produce. We are ready to do what it takes to win the contract we deserve.
Sign our petition telling ProPublica’s management that we deserve a fair contract now!