Salary confusion, job upheaval, and tensions with management: Hearst Magazines employees talk about why they unionized
- Hearst Magazines editorial employees at big-name titles including Cosmopolitan and Esquire recently joined a throng of other media workers who are unionizing.
- A Hearst union would be a big win for the Writers Guild of America East, representing 24 titles.
- Many of the staffers said they were motivated by the gains they saw people get by unionizing at other companies.
- But they also cited uncertainty around pay raises, job changes, and tough pushback by Hearst Magazines President Troy Young as reasons for unionizing.
- While some say a union was inevitable, others question whether management missed a chance to quell unhappy employees.
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Hearst Magazines editorial employees who work at some of the best-known titles including Cosmopolitan and Esquire recently formed a union, joining a throng of other media workers.
Business Insider talked to 10 current and former Hearst employees of varying seniority and tenure about the union's rise and management's response.
While some of their demands are common to media unions, such as editorial standards and diversity programs, employees said they also were frustrated by the way raises and promotions were handled and not having say in recent big change in their jobs:
- Many Hearst employees saw a scattershot approach to promotions and raises at the company, and shared stories about unequal and stagnant pay.
- Starting in 2018, Young started integrating the brands' print and digital teams, leading to big changes in people's jobs and leaving some overwhelmed, stressed, and bitter.
- Hearst then took a forceful stance against the union in meetings and online, which left some feeling angry and patronized.
Young said the company was navigating industry change better than most, but he also acknowledged that change was hard.
Read the rest of the story here: How Hearst's effort to modernize its antiquated magazine business stressed out employees and led them to unionize