HarperCollins Union UAW Local 2110 Members Ratify New Contract, Win Improved and New Benefits
New York, NY — HarperCollins Union members have ratified their tentative agreement after a three-month strike against HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corp. Members will be returning to work on February 21.
“We are very proud of this agreement. Our members fought tooth and nail for every letter of it and the result goes beyond the many improvements we’ve won in this contract,” says Olga Brudastova, President of UAW Local 2110. “I am confident this will lead to a long-lasting change in work culture at HarperCollins and perhaps in publishing at large. There are more than two options now: stick it out or leave. There is now a third option of collective action and standing up together for what is right.”
“What members of the HarperCollins union in Local 2110 achieved will rewrite industry standards and inspire other workers in the publishing industry to stand up to employers,” adds UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla. “Our region stood with the strikers from day one and we celebrate their victory with them.”
HarperCollins employees have had a union for more than 80 years and it is one of the earliest unions of “white collar” workers in the country. Currently, HarperCollins is the only major book publisher in the U.S. to be unionized, though book publishers in other countries have unions. The labor action saw support across the publishing industry and beyond, from authors, agents, booksellers, freelancers, and other publishing employees.
Local 2110 HarperCollins members have been working without a contract since April of 2022. HarperCollins Union Local 2110 represents 250+ employees in editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal, and marketing departments. The full agreement can be found here.
Local 2110 UAW also represents workers at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Columbia University, Film Forum, Teachers College, ACLU, Center for Reproductive Rights, The New Press, and many more. The union has a reputation for aggressive organizing and bargaining and progressive politics.
