Striking HarperCollins workers hold the line: "We'll keep going for as long as we have to"
New York, New York - On a bitterly cold New York Tuesday, striking HarperCollins workers held the picket line in front of the publishing giant's headquarters, demanding one thing and one thing only: a fair contract.
It's now been four days since members of the UAW Local 2110 union, which represents some 250 HarperCollins employees working across all departments, began their strike.
This is the boiling point of a stand-off that has been simmering since at least December 2021, when bargaining for a new union contract began.
Almost a year later, workers say an employer who not long ago was announcing record profits won't agree to their demands, such as livable wages and concrete measures for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Since April, union members have been on the job without a contract and not even a one-day work stoppage in July was enough to move the needle in negotiations.
All the while, their average income remains $55,000 a year, with starting salaries dropping to a measly $45,000 – in New York City.
HarperCollins workers won't back down
It's not just people on the picket lines who see the striking workers' position as reasonable.
"Everyone in publishing except for the executives at HarperCollins seems to be on our side," Stephanie Guerdan, associate editor at HarperCollins Children's Books and a shop steward for the union, told TAG24 News. "Our colleagues – the non-union folks – have been just as supportive. And we've had a lot of love from the rest of the publishing community as well."
From readers, to employees at other major publishers, to big names such as Ella Enchanted author Gail Carson Levine and Meg Cabot of Princess Diaries fame, the support has been wide-spread and visible.
This and HarperCollins' busy printing schedule for Thanksgiving is what gives Guerdan hope that the dispute might come to an end sooner rather than later.
"First and foremost, I'm here because I love my job," she insisted. "I edit children's books, I love all my authors. I want to get back to work, I have an edit that I need to do. I just want to be able to support my authors going forward."
That, however, doesn't mean the union has any intention of backing down: "We feel really invigorated, and we'll keep going for as long as we have to."
Starbucks and Amazon unions back striking workers
As a hot labor summer transitioned into fall and soon winter, the HarperCollins strike is staking its place in a moment that feels increasingly consequential.
"It's a turning point for all publishing," Guerdan told TAG24. "HarperCollins is the second-biggest publisher, the standards set by our contract are going to ripple out to other publishing houses."
Zooming out to an even bigger picture, the ripples of industrial action are felt across different fields. And they're all joining forces. The Amazon and Starbucks unions have given their backing online and in person. On Tuesday, so did National Writers Union president Larry Goldbetter and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who both addressed the striking workers.
"I think the company just has no idea what to do with a union that has a militant rank-and-file who know what they're talking about," Guerdan said.
"We're all coming to the realization that we are workers. Whether we're doing customer service, or a factory job, or driving a truck, or working in an office, we're part of the labor movement."
Cover photo: TAG24/Danny Coposescu