February 16, 2023: THE STRIKE IS OVER!
The HarperCollins Union has voted to ratify the agreement and will return to work on February 21.
So many things have happened since they went on strike, including two other publishers announcing recently that they would be raising their starting salary when in union negotiations, HarperCollins had refused to do.
Congratulations to the Union. Their strike addressed and changed some of the unfairness in the industry, and I was struck by how many people supported them, how many refused to cross the picket line, and how many groups inside a very spread out industry worked together to support the Union.
Put your feet up, y’all. You did it.
…
Fire up your finest Lizzo gifs, because it is ABOUT DAMN TIME.
The HarperCollins Union announced this evening that a tentative agreement has been reached!
According to @MorePerfectUS, the tentative agreement includes:
“increases to minimum salaries across levels” and a $1500 lump sum bonus to all union employees.”
The agreement will need to be ratified by the union members, but WOW am I happy to see this.
…
Today, 26 January 2023, fifty-freaking-SIX days into the strike, HarperCollins has agreed to enter mediation with the HarperCollins Union.
The Union has asked those who support their strike to continue to hold the line while mediation is underway. This means that we will not promote, review, or feature any HarperCollins title, or any title from a subsidiary, including Carina Press, Harlequin, or Avon Books, until an agreement is reached.
…
Effective yesterday, November 10, Harper Collins Union, a part of United Auto Workers Local 2110, is on strike.
The Harper Collins Union has been working without a contract since April 2022. They’ve asked that people NOT boycott HarperCollins titles as part of the strike, but have outlined many option for freelancers, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, and agents to show solidarity and support.
This thread on Twitter from Rachel Kambury details some of the reasons behind the strike, and how employees at HarperCollins have been affected:
“I’m six years into my career as an editor, having worked on dozens of bestsellers across two of the Big 4. I make $13/hr after taxes, etc. I’ve put through $200k+ payment requests while wondering how I’m going to make rent. I’ve been hungry and told to be grateful.”
Harper Collins emailed employees the day before stating that any worker who strikes will not be paid. From the union press release:
The company, one of the top five book publishers globally, reported record-setting profits in the past two years.
The strike is open-ended, and 95.1% of the members of the union voted in favor of this strike.
They have set up a Google form for strike fund pledges:
We are collecting pledges from potential donors to our strike solidarity fund. We will open the fund to receiving donations in advance of our potential strike that may begin November 10th in the event we do not reach an agreement with management. In the meantime, it is valuable for us to estimate how much our fundraising efforts can support our members. When and if the fund opens to donations, we will email you instructions on how to donate.
We have contributed to the strike fund, and are also supporting the strike in the methods recommended by the union. You can find a complete list of the Harper imprints (which includes Harlequin and all its lines) at Wikipedia – it’s a long list. (And if we miss one by mistake, please, please let me know.)
There is also a Google drive of assets for showing support via social media, and even Zoom backgrounds.
On a personal note, I grew up in Pittsburgh at the very, very tail end of the steel mill era, and witnessed steel worker strikes, teacher strikes, an almost-ambulance strike, and many others. I am a little emotional seeing the employees of Harper Collins (owned by NewsCorp and Rupert Murdoch FFS) striking, and am in awe of the work the union is doing on their behalf. The increase in union support and unionization around the US is so very inspiring.
Additional reading:
- This incredible write up from Yashwina at Autostraddle
- The HarperCollins Union press release about the strike
- Publishers Weekly coverage
- NPR: Workers at HarperCollins Publishers begin strike
Thank you for this! I wouldn’t have known about this strike without SBTB, and you’ve made it so easy to figure out how to support!
Thank you for supporting this. My dad was a union steward during the AT&T strike in 68. It was a long six months. My mom got a job and we are A LOT of peanut butter.
I read an interesting report a few years ago the gust of which us that it them turn of the 20th century 90% of company profits were put back into the business: infrastructure upgrades, salaries, expansion, etc. At the turn of the 21st century 90% if company profits were turned over to investors. People who add zero value to a company’s bottom line receive the most benefit from your labor.
My long winded way of saying workers unite!!
Is there any way I can donate without using my Google account?
@GwenPeds – they’re not actually collecting donations through the survey, just getting estimates. They ask you how much you’d pledge and whether you can pay by paper cheque, and then it says they’ll email instructions later.
@GwenPeds – yes, this is just a pledge collection. During the one day strike a few months ago I donated via Venmo, but I believe they had other methods for donation.
If I had one thing drummed into my head during the years I worked with economists and statisticians, it is that correlation does not prove causation. Nonetheless, I do not think it a coincidence that the rise of labor unions coincided with the rise of the American middle class, and the decline in unions with rising income inequality.
Thank you for spreading the news! I have long heard horror stories about the grueling hours/work load vs. the compensation/benefits from people trying to break into the industry at the lowest levels as interns and assistants. Glad people are finally trying to do something about this!
Also, as an outsider looking in, it very much feels to me like there is a gender disparity between the executives and the interns/assistants/editors, and one of the unstated assumptions here is that this is all just a hobby for these young women/young queer people. They are doing all this work for FuNziEs, and everyone has a man/sugar daddy with a ReAl JoB~ who is going to pay their bills for them. >:(
Thanks for this. Absolutely support.
Thank you for this. I should have read it days ago.
Thank you for posting about this! I’ve been trying to find information on the strike and if I needed to be avoiding books published by Harper Collins while it was going, and this is the first I’ve found that’s had that information.
Is the strike why there have recently been less recommended romances on the site? I finally looked at the actual tweet on ways to support and made the connection.
I find this to be an incredibly effective way to support the strike but i also think it would be good if this was more explicitly called out here on SBTB.
@Ciem: I frequently remind readers in the Books on Sale post that we won’t be promoting HarperCollins titles and this post is pinned at the top of the site. We’ve also mentioned the strike and our decision not to promote HC titles in places like the podcast and Wednesday Links. If you have any additional suggestions, feel free to let us know.
Considering that HC includes prominent romance imprints like Carina Press, Harlequin, Avon, and William Morrow, that does mean less titles are being mentioned and reviewed here. It also coincided with the end of the year, when we typically don’t post a lot of reviews in favor of giveaways and Best Of content.