After two years of collective bargaining, the WGA East has filed another unfair labor practices charge against Hearst Magazines Media – this time for giving employees a raise while in contract negotiations with the guild.
The guild, which says that this violates federal labor law, represents some 500 of the publishing giant’s editorial, video, design and photo staff at more than 25 brands, including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, Elle, Redbook and Woman’s Day.
The complaint, filed today with the National Labor Relations Board, claims that “Within the last six months, the employer unilaterally implemented a wage increase for bargaining unit employees while it is in negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement with the charging party.” This is the third unfair labor practices charge the guild has filed against the company for allegedly acting unlawfully during bargaining.
In this latest case, the guild says that Hearst “tried to circumvent bargaining by giving a discretionary and unevenly applied increase, meaning some people got nothing.
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