New Yorker Union Staffers Protest Firings at Netflix Documentary screening
NEW YORK – Unionized staff members of The New Yorker protested Thursday evening at a screening of the Netflix documentary The New Yorker at 100, demonstrating against recent staff terminations following a confrontation with Condé Nast leadership. The protest involved leafletting attendees at the Paris Theater during a post-screening conversation featuring the film’s director, Marshall Curry, executive producer Judd Apatow, and New Yorker editor David Remnick.
The firings, first reported by The Wrap and confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, stemmed from an exchange that Condé Nast’s leadership said “violated company policies,” characterizing the workers’ actions as “behaviour that crosses the line into targeted harassment and disruption of business operations.” The company has also filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the NewsGuild of New York, the union representing The New Yorker staff and othre Condé Nast employees.
The NewsGuild of New York contends the firings represent “a flagrant breach of the just Cause terms of our contract and an unprecedented violation of [members’] federally protected rights.” Among those dismissed was Jasper Lo, a senior fact-checker at The New Yorker who briefly appears in The New Yorker at 100. Lo’s termination has sparked internal controversy, with prominent writers including Susan Orlean and Jay Caspian Kang reportedly protesting the decision, according to The Washington post.
“By retaliating against journalists for peaceful and protected activity, the company is trampling on our rights, our union contract, and the independence and integrity of The New Yorker,” stated New Yorker union co-chair Daniel Gross, who also appears in the Netflix film. “We will not be intimidated, and we will win.”
The New Yorker at 100-a celebratory portrait of the publication’s history and recent success amidst challenges in the media industry-debuts on Netflix Friday.
This protest follows a mid-November rally outside Condé Nast’s offices, attended by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who called for the reinstatement of the terminated workers. New Yorker union co-chair Lauren Harris stated the magazine should “live up to its reputation for tenacity – not only in its journalism but also in protecting the rights of its workers.”