Condé Nast agreed to a $400,000-plus settlement with three out of four former employees who were fired after confronting chief people officer Stan Duncan last fall about layoffs at the company.
Following what the NewsGuild of New York described as a “march on the boss,” Bon Appétit’s Alma Avalle, Condé Nast Entertainment’s Ben Dewey, The New Yorker’s Jasper Lo and Wired’s Jake Lahut lost their jobs last fall and five other staffers were suspended. The NewsGuild of New York then filed grievances, as well as Unfair Labor Practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board in support of the four workers and five other employees, who had been suspended.
A Condé Nast spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday evening.
The impacted workers at Condé Nast were also supported by NewsGuild of New York’s parent union, Communications Workers of America, through a member relief fund.
As part of the settlement, the three fired workers’ disciplinary records were also expunged, according to the union. But a Condé Nast spokesperson disputed that claim Thursday stating they were not. The former workers had spoken out regarding layoffs at Wired and other titles, as well as the consolidation of Teen Vogue, according to the NewsGuild of New York. A video of the foursome confronting Duncan at the door to his office at One World Trade Center was widely circulated after the incident in November.
In a statement, Lo, a former senior fact checker at The New Yorker, said, “We fought because we had to, because so much of an equitable future as workers and journalists depends on our combined efforts to resist inhumane treatment.”
Related Articles
In a memo that was circulated to employees within Condé Nast Wednesday, the company said three of the employees’ discharges had been converted to resignations, but “nobody will be reinstated. These employees have accepted terms for severance and will no longer be at the company. For the employees who were suspended, we have removed their suspensions, but they are on notice that similar activities in the future may lead to similar disciplinary action.”
The NewsGuild of New York said Condé Nast’s actions violated their contractual Just Cause protections and federal labor law to engage in protected concerted activity as workers, according to a release from NewsGuild of New York.
You May Also Like
The Condé Nast-issued memo described the November incident as a group of union-represented employees having staged a protest in the office, which was considered a violation of “our company’s policies and collective bargaining agreement, and resulted in our taking disciplinary action with respect to several employees.”
Noting that the union challenged “the issuance of discipline” and that the disputes have subsequently been resolved, the memo stated, “We have reached a resolution with the union and impacted employees, which we expect to be effective in the coming weeks, so that all parties can move forward constructively. As part of the agreement, both parties expressly denied wrongdoing and liability.”
Lahut, a former political writer at Wired, declined his settlement deal. In a post on “X,” Lahut said, “I’m so stoked for the rest of the Fired Four getting this deal. Condé is giving them nearly two years of backpay. They offered me four months. In the absence of a serious offer, I’m looking forward to my day in court.”
He could not be immediately reached for further comment Wednesday evening.
The NewsGuild of New York’s president Susan DeCarava said in a statement, “Our fight as a union is about more than a single contract; it is about ensuring workers’ rights to a just workplace.”
The Condé Nast memo closed with, “Importantly, throughout this process, we upheld our Condé Code to respect each other, and we have made clear that we uphold our company policies, and we do not tolerate harassment or misconduct in our workplace.” It was signed by the “People Team.”