Hundreds of workers at the publishing giant Condé Nast Entertainment, which owns food publication Bon Appétit, announced Tuesday that they had formed a companywide union. The union will cover more than 500 employees from all of Condé Nast’s brands – including BA, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ, among others – except the four that have already unionized: Ars Technica, Pitchfork, Wired, and The New Yorker.
The employees, including editorial, video and production staff at Condé Nast, are pushing for better pay, increased job security and a stronger commitment to diversity and equity, according to their statement.
“We care too much about our work to not have a say in our company,” the union wrote on their Instagram. “As of this morning, we are asking that Condé Nast recognize our union swiftly and voluntarily so that we can get down to business — building a better Condé for everyone.”
The unionized employees sent a mission statement to the executive leadership of Condé Nast – including CEO Roger Lynch, Anna Wintour, and Stan Duncan — with details of their request and intention. In addition to their overall union mission statement, this request for recognition was sent to President of Condé Nast Entertainment Agnes Chu.
In their statement, CNU workers cited burnout from poor working conditions as well as the company's alleged abuse of the permalance system, which allows freelance employees to work without reaping the benefits of a permanent employee, such as healthcare, job security, and other benefits.
“We work non-stop, crafting viral videos across all of the Condé Nast publications,” the union said in a statement on Instagram. “Our work often goes uncredited – so you might not know our names or faces – but our digital footprint is all over your feed.”
This digital footprint includes the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen and its iconic video series, such as Gourmet Makes with Claire Saffitz, and It’s Alive with Brad Leone. Outside of the food world, CNE is responsible for creating, developing, and producing thousands of videos, including iconic series like Architectural Digest’s Open Door, WIRED’s Autocomplete, and Vogue’s 73 Questions.
In addition to protection from exploitative temporary work policies and lack of transparency from the brand’s leaders, Condé United is demanding recognition and protection from racial injustice in the workplace. The issue of racial injustice within CNE brands first came to light in June of 2020, following a resurfacing of a photo of Bon Appétit’s editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport in brownface, which prompted staffers to call out systemic racism at the publication. Following the allegations, Rapoport resigned from his position at the magazine, and many of the stars of BA’s Test Kitchen YouTube ended their video contracts in solidarity after learning of the pay inequities between white and BIPOC colleagues.
Shortly thereafter, Bon Appétit released a statement regarding the scandals, recognizing that they were “complicit with a culture [they] don’t agree with” before promising that “things are going to change.”
CNU is one of the many major corporations who has unionized as of late. After successfully unionizing in Buffalo, NY, Starbucks employees in Boston have begun to follow suit. Additionally, workers at Amy’s Kitchen, Kellogg’s, and Frito Lay have also unionized, citing poor working conditions and unfair wages.
“It is time for Condé Nast to be held accountable for their rampant discrimination and inequity across all platforms,” CNU wrote on Instagram. “The changes we affect now at CNE will have lasting impacts across the industry. The time is now.”