USA: 200 HarperCollins employees went on strike

WORKERS UNION IN PUBLICATIONS, BOOKSTORES, PHOTO COPY CENTERS, STATIONERY, DIGITAL DEVICES OF ATTICA (ATHENS – GREECE)

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USA: 200 HarperCollins employees went on strike

The Workers’ Union in Publications, Bookstores, Photo copy centres, Stationary, Digital Devices of Attica (Athens – Greece) sends a message of solidarity to the 200 employees of HarperCollins – the publishing house owned by Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp – who went on strike on Wednesday 20 July. The workers are demanding higher pay, improvements to vested rights (in family leave benefits, etc.), but also a commitment from the publisher for diversity policies with regards to its staff (affirmative action in gender, ethnicity, colour) and stronger union protection.

Negotiations between the union Local 2110 of the UAW, which represents over 250 HarperCollins employees in the design, editorial legal, marketing, publicity, and sales departments, and company management for a new collective bargaining agreement began in December 2021. These negotiations began when the one-year extension (due to the Covid – 19 pandemic) of the  existing collective agreement expired. So far, these negotiations have not led to an agreement as the company remains too far removed from the workers’ demands. 

Union members at HarperCollins held a vote and decided by 99.5% to go on strike.

Thousands of people in the publishing industry sided with the HarperCollins workers by putting their signatures on a petition to the company, urging it to compromise on a fair collective bargaining agreement.  

In Greece, too, workers are fighting against employer attacks, fighting for wage increases, for collective agreements and the establishment of labour rights, for the protection of the right to trade unionism. The attacks of the employers and the Greek governments resulted in the abolition in 2013 of the Collective Labour Agreement in the Book and Publishing Sector, which was first signed in 2004 and which every year guaranteed small improvements (wages and social security) for the workers of the Book and Publishing Sector.

We stand with our colleagues at HarperCollins and their union (UAW LOCAL 2110 – Union for Technical Office & Professional Workers). We send them a warm fraternal greeting.

The victory of labour struggles in one country is a victory for workers around the world.  

Send messages of support to the union email: Local2110@2110uaw.org

10/8/2022