At midnight on Friday in New York, editorial staffers at Insider Inc., parent company of Business Insider, went on strike after failing to resolve several disagreements with management over, among other things, the company’s health care plan.
According to the Union representing them, more than 250 Insider editorial employees are now striking.
“It’s official: THE INSIDER UNION IS ON STRIKE. Management failed to agree on a fair contract that settles our healthcare ULP and pays us what we’re worth. Starting now, over 250 Insider employees are on indefinite strike. You want us back @thisisinsider? Settle the contract,” the Insider Union said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The union voted on May 24 to authorize a strike if negotiations with Insider management broke down on or before June 2. And earlier Thursday, in a statement detailing its issues posted ahead of the strike deadline, the union explained that Inside changed the company’s health care plan “without bargaining with us,” and accused it of “saddling us with higher costs and worse coverage.”
According to the union, health care costs increased drastically, with some employees seeing increases of more than 1000%. One union member, an asthma sufferer, said the new health plan will now only cover a limited number of inhalers per year.
Representatives for Insider, Inc. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Earlier Thursday, a company spokesperson said in a statement, “We are actively engaged with our union team, which we have great respect for. Our goal remains the same: To agree to the best possible contract that works for the whole company.”
The strike comes a month after hundreds of Insider employees staged a walk out to protest plans to layoff 10% of Insider staff, and it of course coincides with the larger Hollywood writers’ strike conducted by members of the Writers Guild of America.
Insider employees formed the union in 2021.
