Unionized staffers at ProPublica, the Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom, launched a 24-hour walkout on Wednesday after authorizing a strike last month.
The union, which is represented by the NewsGuild of New York, has been negotiating its first contract with the company since late 2023 and represents roughly 150 staffers across the editorial and business divisions. Guild staffers said ProPublica management has refused to agree on restrictions on replacing jobs with AI, job security provisions, seniority clauses for potential layoffs and wage increases. The union said last month that 92% of its members authorized a strike over the prolonged negotiations.
Staffers are picketing the company’s offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
“Our members are standing together to demand that management agree to very basic, very standard union protections,” Jeff Ernsthausen, a senior data reporter at ProPublica and secretary of its union, said in a statement. “We care deeply about our work, so we call on management to understand the gravity of this walkout and to come to the table ready to take our concerns seriously.”
A ProPublica spokesperson said the company was “committed to reaching a fair and sustainable first contract to cement the strong pay and benefits we’ve always provided our staff” and that its proposals were similar to those offered at the Atlantic, the New Yorker and the New York Times.
“Our members at ProPublica are key to the company’s reputation for excellence,” Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, added. “Today, they have walked off the job to remind management of their value and demonstrate their commitment to accomplishing a fair contract.”
The walkout follows an unfair labor practice charge the union filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday, alleging the company “unilaterally” imposed its AI policy without first bargaining with the union. The policy states that ProPublica will not use AI to generate or manipulate photos, videos and audio, and the outlet promises staff will review any content using AI before publication.
“Our journalists are responsible for everything we publish,” it said.
A ProPublica spokesperson said the company has never had layoffs and that it was “too soon to know exactly how AI will affect our work.”
“Rather than make promises we can’t responsibly keep, we are exploring how these technologies can create more space for investigative reporting and thinking deeply and creatively, not less,” they said.
AI policies have rankled newsrooms across the country. Staffers at the Sacramento Bee and the Charlotte Observer, two news outlets owned by McClatchy, have expressed concerns with management over a new AI tool meant to repurpose older stories under new headlines. Unionized staffers at the New York Times have also made AI a focal point of their negotiations.
