5 Things The Insider Union Won In Its Tentative Agreement

After 13 days of being on strike and two years of contract negotiation, the Insider Union announced on Wednesday that they have reached a tentative agreement with management on a new contract. 

Here are the union’s wins:  

• $65,000 salary floor.
• A moratorium on layoffs until the end of the year.
• 3.5 percent raises for any employee who hasn’t received a raise this past year.  
• Next year, all employees will receive a 3.75 percent raise. In 2025, members will receive a 3 percent raise. 
• Employees will receive over $400,000 in healthcare reimbursement. According to The Daily Beast, Insider will create reimbursement accounts for employees that will “pay out $2,200 over three years to spend on mental health and prescription costs.” The union will settle their unfair labor charges against Insider that were initially filed after the company switched healthcare providers, causing prescription costs to increase for some employees.

Insider Union’s strike was the first of any US publication owned by the German media conglomerate Axel-Springer. After Insider laid off over 22 employees in April, this is a highly significant win for media unions.

These were some memorable moments from the historic strike:

• The union created a strike publication called Business Outsider that covered their picket line and served up truly bonkers content like an off-the-rails interview with Semafor co-founder, Ben Smith.  
• Nicholas Carlson, the editor in chief of Insider, was caught in Brooklyn tearing down pro-union posters featuring his face.
• According to our on the ground reporting, the union blocked some of the mail from entering Liberty Plaza by handing out pamphlets to delivery people at the loading dock.
• The White House apologized to the union after its press office linked to an Insider article (the union asked for people not to click on or read Insider articles during the strike). The White House Press Secretary even used voiced support for the union and the “historic wave of newsrooms demanding fair pay and benefits,” giving shout outs to workers at Gannett and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We all marched, texted, flyered, rallied, took videos, wrote articles, tweeted, and kept the pressure on. We built our solidarity and our power. Our union will return to work stronger than ever! Thank you to everyone who helped us hold the line,” the Insider Union’s account tweeted on Wednesday.

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