Condé Nast has reached a settlement with The NewsGuild of New York over the firing and suspension of unionized employees who took part in a November 2025 “march on the boss,” six months after staffers were dismissed following a filmed confrontation with the company’s head of HR over recent layoffs, TheWrap has learned.
On Nov. 5, 2025, editorial staff confronted the company’s head of HR over layoffs at several brands, including Wired and Teen Vogue, and followed him down a hallway while he directed them to go back to work. The encounter quickly grew tense, with the executive attempting to leave as union members continued pressing him to respond — portions of the exchange were captured on video and later leaked to the media.
The following day, four union members — Bon Appétit’s Alma Avalle, Condé Nast Entertainment’s Ben Dewey, Wired’s Jake Lahut and The New Yorker’s Jasper Lo — were fired. Five other union members were suspended over conduct the company said “violated company policies.”
At the time, the union denounced the dismissals as unlawful disciplinary actions, alleging they violated both contractual “just cause” protections and federal labor law guaranteeing employees the right to engage in protected concerted activity. It also launched a public campaign in support of the employees, who became known internally as “the Fired Four.” The NewsGuild filed grievances and unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board shortly after the firings and suspensions.
Now, nearly six months after the incident, the union has reached a settlement with Condé Nast over the disciplinary action. Under the agreement, announced Wednesday, Avalle, Dewey and Lo, were reinstated in good standing, awarded financial settlements totaling more than $400,000 and given letters of recommendation, with all disciplinary records expunged. The three later chose to resign, with their status ultimately changed from termination to voluntary resignation.
“Our fight as a union is about more than a single contract; it is about ensuring workers’ rights to a just workplace,” Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, said. “When employers attempt to undermine our rights, we will organize, fight back, and hold them accountable. This settlement sends a forceful message: workers united in solidarity have the power to push back against bully union-busting bosses and demand their workplaces be governed by respect rather than fear.”
Lahut, the remaining “Fired Four” member, took to social media sharing that he decided not to accept Condé Nast’s offer and will be “looking forward” to his day in court. At the time of his dismissal, Lahut was a probationary employee and not yet covered under contractual “just cause” provisions, though the union has an active unfair labor practice charge pending with the NLRB on his behalf.
Some personal news, as they say:
— Jake Lahut (@JakeLahut) May 27, 2026
I’m so stoked for the rest of the Fired Four getting this deal. Conde is giving them nearly two years of backpay.
They offered me 4 months. In the absence of a serious offer, I’m looking forward to my day in court.https://t.co/05MzbD6f4v
“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,” Lo said in a statement. “Not only can we stand up for what’s right, but we can also set the tone for what is acceptable in a workplace.”
The settlement also addressed the five suspended employees, who were awarded back pay for the duration of their unpaid suspensions and had all disciplinary records cleared.
“The unpaid suspensions added another layer of egregious, illegal retaliation to this situation,” Lily Newman, a senior writer at Wired, said. “It is heartening that this settlement removes the discipline from my and my colleagues’ records and furnishes backpay.”
In a memo to staff obtained by TheWrap, Condé Nast addressed the settlement and maintained it will not tolerate “harassment or misconduct” at the company. You can read the full memo below:
We wanted to share some context and key facts regarding a settlement we have reached with the union about labor disputes from last year.
In November 2025, a group of union-represented employees staged a protest in the office, which we considered a violation of our company policies and collective bargaining agreement, and resulted in our initially taking disciplinary action with respect to several employees. The union challenged the issuance of that discipline. Since then, we have been working through our agreed process to resolve such disputes.
Today, 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.
We also agreed to convert three employee discharges to resignations, but nobody will be reinstated. These employees 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 disciplinary action.
Importantly, throughout this process, we upheld our Condé Code to respect each other, and we have made clear that we will uphold our company policies, and we do not tolerate harassment or misconduct in our workplace.
