HarperCollins, a subsidiary of NewsCorp, is one of the five largest publishers in the U.S., and its catalog includes the best-selling middle-grade FGTeeV graphic novels. HarperCollins imprints include Mariner Books, which publishes Alison Bechdel’s work, including Fun Home, and Morrow, which publishes Nathan W. Pyle’s Strange Planet.
The current HarperCollins contract expired in April 2022. Negotiations on a new contract began in December 2021, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. The union is asking for an increase in the starting salary from $45,000 to $50,000, as well as a greater commitment to diversity in the workforce and continued protections for union members. The union says many employees have been pressured to work extra hours without additional pay.
In early October, while negotiations were still going on, HarperCollins laid off a number of employees, including six members of the union. The union filed an unfair labor practices charge with the NLRB in response. “Management is citing cost-cutting as the motivation for these layoffs, but they fail to specify what other measures have been considered and implemented before putting employees’ livelihoods on the chopping block,” said union member Stephanie Guerdan, in a statement accompanying the announcement of the strike. “[President and CEO] Brian Murray’s announcement on Thursday also mentioned hiring freezes, which the company denied were happening earlier this fall.”
The effect this will have on HarperCollins’ publishing schedule will depend on how long the strike lasts. The publisher sent an e-mail to employees last week saying that it had “implemented plans to ensure that operations continue uninterrupted during a potential strike,” according to the New York Times.
A number of HarperCollins authors, including Nilah Magruder, Chuck Wendig, and Courtney Milan, expressed their support for the strike on Twitter.
HarperCollins did not respond to a request for comment in time for this article.
