On September 19 and 20, The Atlantic magazine’s annual festival took place on the Washington, D.C waterfront. Thousands poured in to hear from speakers across media, political and cultural disciplines speak on a variety of topics.
However, their voices weren’t the only ones attendees heard over those two days. The magazine’s unionized workforce was out in force, distributing leaflets and rallying to raise awareness of their two year-long contract dispute with The Atlantic’s management.
At the heart of the matter was management’s refusal to accept a Just Cause clause, which would protect employees from arbitrary termination or disciplinary actions. Additionally, the union members sought greater protections from outsourcing work to artificial intelligence and a reasonable telework policy.
“The bottom line for us is that management is still not listening to us when we say we want a fair contract,” said union member Chris Barna. “So we’re coming to The Atlantic Festival, the company’s most important annual event, to make sure they hear us. We want to spotlight the gap between the values The Atlantic celebrates onstage and what it’s actually willing to do for the people who make it.”
These NewsGuild-CWA members were joined in solidarity by a number of D.C. and New York-area trade unionists, including Maritime Trades Department Executive Secretary-Treasurer Mark Clements and Administrator/Chief of Staff Brittanie Potter. The speakers at the rally included leaders such as NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava and NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss.
The union urges supporters to send a form email on their behalf to The Atlantic’s Editor in Chief and CEO, letting them know that the time to stall on these vital worker protections is over. You can add your voice to their cause by clicking here.