ProPublica Guild

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

We stand in solidarity with the members of the @laist.com Union, as they fight to keep their work journalist-made, not AI-generated. Use the link below to send a letter to their management. #KeepLAistHumanMade actionnetwork.org/letters/keep...

Donate to support journalists who were recently laid off in the Central Valley: www.gofundme.com/f/support-la...

We stand with the Seattle Times Union. Sign their petition to support their fight for a strong contract that pays members a living wage and protects against unchecked AI implementation. actionnetwork.org/petitions/sa...

We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the Daily Herald News Guild and call on their company’s management to quickly and voluntarily recognize their union! ✊ actionnetwork.org/letters/were...

ICYMI on Friday, @propublicaguild.org ratified our FIRST union contract! We got a ton of support over the past three years from our readers and listeners and we're so grateful. Find out more here: www.propublicaguild.org/updates/prop...

We have a deal with ProPublica mgmt! So thankful for all the public support we received and for the effort of all the workers who make up ProPublica. If you were withholding your donation due to the fight, it's time to help us out so we can continue doing what we do best: holding power to account

Our work wouldn't be as successful without all of the unsung heroes of this organization: copy, visuals, IT, our PR team, those who retain our donors, finance, etc. Management, por favor, let's close this contract out with good pay scales and GWI.

“One of the things that I really care about is making sure that we have transparent pay scales,” says reporter Cassandra Jaramillo, “While I'm very grateful for what I'm able to earn as a reporter, it's not the same story for some of my colleagues in different departments.”

Reporter Lisa Song says that it “just doesn’t make sense” for ProPublica management to require a rigid RTO policy. Our members work long hours and need a flexible RTO policy to do their best work.

“ProPublica should be the example for the industry,” says reporter Mark Olalde, “that means fair pay… that means layoff protections, and that means guardrails around artificial intelligence.” Learn more about our fight for a fair contract at propublicaguild.org

Adding my voice to those calling for a GREAT first contract between @propublica.org and its union @propublicaguild.org

“A flexible hybrid schedule allows us to retain and support employees long term as they grow professionally and personally, building and caring for their families,” says visual editor Alex Bandoni, who worries that a rigid RTO policy will especially impact parents.

We applaud our colleagues at the High Country News Union for winning an impactful first contract! The magazine is stronger for the protections and benefits its workers have earned. ✊ newsguild.org/workers-at-h...

“We deserve adequate pay,” says copy editor Julie Kliegman, “That means salary floors that match the cost of living and annual increases that keep up with inflation.” Support us in our fight for a fair contract: propublicaguild.org.

It’s important that staffers “don’t feel like they have to get a second job or even leave the industry… to make ends meet,” says engagement reporter Asia Fields, who wants a strong contract both for our members and to help the journalism industry at large.

Climate reporter Katie Worth wants to see fair wages in our contract, especially for our development team. “I think it’s only fair for a small portion of [ProPublica’s increased revenue] to go toward wage increases that at least keep up with inflation.”

“I’m frustrated because management is not agreeing to a basic cornerstone of every union contract,” says news apps developer Al Shaw. Seniority-based layoff protections are important both for protecting long-time staffers AND for ensuring layoffs can’t be used to circumvent Just Cause protections.

“ProPublica can be extremely generous with its senior reporters,” says reporter Doug Bock Clark, “but for entry level people… they’re not getting paid enough.” We need contract language that ensures fair wages for all ProPublica employees.

“I really care about A.I. in this contract and getting really strong guardrails to protect our work,” says grants coordinator Eli Oberman. Management has said they want to have responsible A.I. policies – but we need them to put those policies in a contract!

“ProPublica management should honor all of the years of service that so many have devoted to making [it] the investigative powerhouse it’s become,” says Nadia Sussman, who has been a video journalist at ProPublica for almost nine years. We need seniority-based layoff protections in our contract.

“It's time for management to come to the table with some real movement so we can close out this contract and get back to focusing on that work that we love doing,” says interactive story designer Anna Donlan. We need management to agree to a reasonable wage proposal now.

“I care most about a contract that will lift the salary floors of our lowest paid employees so that they can afford to live in the cities that we work in,” says research reporter Kirsten Berg. We deserve a fair contract now!

Some ProPublicans are “penalized by @propublica.org’s pay structure because we live in areas deemed to be having a lower cost of living,” says reporter Max Blau. Management must agree to fairer wages in our contract.

Visuals editor Shoshana Gordon uses her paints, brushes, easel and other art supplies in her home office. Doing her job “really wouldn’t be possible” if she had to report to an office. We need a flexible RTO policy that ensures our colleagues can do their work wherever it makes the most sense.

“I started about three months ago, right after I got laid off at the Washington Post,” says audio producer Sabby Robinson, “layoff protections are really important to me.” Our message to @propublica.org management: we need strong layoff protections in our contract!

“As a video journalist for ProPublica my job requires me to travel a ton,” says Katie Campbell, “A rigid return to office policy does not make any sense.” We’re fighting for an RTO policy that preserves flexibility so our members can keep doing their best work.

“I believe that all of my colleagues in every department … are doing invaluable work,” says regional office manager Liz Barr, “I don’t believe that any of them can be responsibly replaced with AI.” We deserve a contract that bars management from replacing workers with AI.

“We have people living in areas with wildly different costs of living and currently our pay scales don’t really account for that,” says Texas-based reporter Zach Despart. All of our union members must make a living wage.

Lisa Riordan Seville, senior video producer at @propublica.org: “We're asking for wages that allow people to take care of their families, pay the rising costs of housing and food ... so they can continue to do the kind of work that wins Pulitzers and holds power to account.”

“In a media industry that's doing constant layoffs,” says senior YouTube producer Elizabeth Macaulay, “it means so much to know that you are secure in your workplace and that you can continue to do your best work.”

Dan Phiffer is a software engineer who helps build the ProPublica website: “It's been very frustrating to see such a stark contrast between those efforts to get AI right, in practice, with management's vague and unfettered bargaining position.”

“I love my job … I love the people I work with,” says reporter Duaa Eldeib, “and to continue to do that work, we need wages that keep up with inflation.” Visit propublicaguild.org to help ProPublica workers win a strong first contract.

“ProPublica is … a shining light in a very troubled journalism industry,” says reporter Anna Barry-Jester, but “management is refusing to agree to basic layoff protections.” Help us win a fair contract with strong layoff protections: propublicaguild.org

“I’m deeply concerned about wage disparities across the newsroom,” says Jeremy Kohler, a reporter based in St. Louis. We need @propublica.org management to agree to fair wages in our contract.

When I was a News Apps developer at ProPublica I worked remotely nearly all of the time. Wasn't ever mentioned as a problem, because with proper understanding between adults it's not.

ProPublica reporter Sharon Lerner likes going into the office, but “there are days when it doesn’t make sense, like when I’m making calls to another country or too busy to spend the time on the train.” We need a flexible return-to-office policy.

A rigid return to office policy just doesn’t make sense for the way we work at ProPublica. Development team member Megan Martenyi wants to see an RTO policy with flexibility that allows for everyone to do their best work.