sharks + planes as formerly seen on Twitter

not minecraft, but also not deincraft. UNSERcraft, Kamerad. :]

You can donate to their strike fund here, their layoff fund here, and send a letter to Law360 here

Workers at Law360, a subscription-based legal news service, are on a one day unfair labor practice strike today over their parent company LexisNexis and their failure to bargain in good faith with the union. Specifically, LexisNexis has levied severe layoffs against the Law360 newsroom and slow-walked contract negotiations, which have now been ongoing for a year and three months with no resolution (Law360 Union's contract expired at the end of 2022.)

In a press release on the subject, The NewsGuild of New York stated that:

Just a month ago, LexisNexis executives congratulated themselves on the company achieving its highest revenue growth in decades. The same day, management announced they would lay off 26 members of the Law360 Union.

The union’s current contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022, and negotiations have been ongoing since then to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement. Changes to workplace terms and conditions, including layoffs, after a contract has expired must be negotiated and agreed to by the Guild. Failure to maintain the workplace status quo is a violation of labor law and is the basis of an unfair labor practice charge filed by The NewsGuild of New York on behalf of Law360 Union earlier this month.

The main aim of this walkout is to reinstate all Law360 workers that have been fired, and to bring Law360 to the table so any layoffs needed can occur through a structured contract bargaining process. Workers will be picketing LexisNexis HQ (230 Park Ave) starting at 12:30pm ET and will be rallying at 1pm.

Yesterday, the IGN Creators Guild, which was voluntarily recognized last month after going public in early February, made a distressing announcement: three IGN employees were laid off. They write that:

On March 7, 2024, IGN Management blindsided the IGN Creators Guild with three layoffs. This decision was made despite the fact that the company is in no economic distress and without consulting the union. This decision shocked us, given the fact that the company voluntarily recognized our guild. The company is claiming that these decisions were made prior to our recognition. Failing to approach us prior to the layoffs, and instead only choosing to bargain over the effects of said layoffs, is a massive breach of trust between union employees and management.

That erosion of trust is only furthered by the fact that there are currently seven open positions at the company and our three colleagues could be slotted into many of them. There were plenty of alternative options to utilize the abundance of resources between these three team members. This layoff was a choice, not a need.

These three employees have since come forward as Jesse B. Gill, Francesca Rivera, and Joshua Yehl. According to them the union attempted to propose alternatives to layoffs, particularly given the circumstances noted in the letter, but were brushed off by IGN.

Given that the union was recognized prior to these layoffs and was not consulted on them, they charge that the layoffs constitute an unfair labor practice. Accordingly the union is asking for support from the community, saying:

[...] We're turning to our community now. Join us in insisting IGN management sit down with us at the bargaining table instead of communicating with us through outside counsel. In the meantime, we've filed unfair labor practice charges and have demanded that IGN agree to comprehensive layoff and just cause language for our entire unit to prevent a situation like this in the future.

They're also asking that you specifically contact IGN figures Yael Prough, Peer Schneider, and John Davison in doing so.