(NEW YORK CITY) - Unionized Staffers at ProPublica, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Non-Profit Newsroom, launched a 24-hour Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) Strike today (Wednesday, April 8th) after authorizing such an action last month.

The Union, which is part of the NewsGuild of New York, has been negotiating its first contract with the company since late 2023 and represents 140 Staffers across the Editorial and Business Divisions.

Guild Staffers said ProPublica management has refused to agree on restrictions on replacing jobs with Artificial Intelligence (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.

NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Jon Schleuss said: “Today our Members at ProPublica are on a twenty-four-hour Unfair Labor Practice Strike over management’s refusal to agree to a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement. Join them holding power to account by respecting their picket line. Do not click on ProPublica’s website, newsletters or Social Media today. Our (140) Members at the Non-Profit News Organization have bargained for more than two years while management has dragged its feet. Workers are fighting for a contract that includes: AI job protections and contractually guaranteed guardrails; Wages that keep up with inflation and resolve long-standing inequities; and Standard job protections that include due process and seniority provisions in layoffs.”

Staffers are picketing the company’s offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Jeff Ernsthausen, a Senior Data Reporter at ProPublica and Secretary of its Union, said: “Our Members are standing together to demand that management agree to very basic, very standard Union protections. 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.”

For More On This Labor News Story, Go To: ProPublica Union Launches 24-Hour Walkout After AI Talks Stymie Contract Negotiations

ProPublica Guild Photo Via Instagram.