A Conversation with Hachette Worker's Coalition

Publishing employees deserve better salaries & working conditions. Here is how that can happen.

Something that hasn’t changed during my 30 years in book publishing is that employees are often overworked, underpaid, and don’t have much say in company changes that directly affect them. I have experienced problematic bosses, salaries that did not match my experience, sexism (I was once told by a male HR Director that I was being “too assertive” because I asked for more money), and protected people who worked for me from being targeted because of their race. None of these things should happen, but they do, and that is why I am grateful Hachette Workers Coalition agreed to trust me with their story. t

Please read their thoughtful answers to my questions, and lend your support. If we want an equitable industry and any hope for change, we must listen and support publishing professionals who will lead the charge.

Below, I am in conversation with the following Hachette employees:
Maria Diaz, she/her, Sr. Contracts Associate
Andy Wang, they/them, Designer
Celia Monroe, she/her, Marketing Manager

Publishing Confidential: Was there a single moment or issue that pushed organizing from conversation to action, or is it the sum of many issues the union would like addressed?

Maria D: It was the culmination of many issues, and we have been organizing for years. One of the first times we were originally inspired to organize was around canceling Woody Allen’s book in 2020. As the proud publishers of Ronan Farrow’s Catch and Kill, it seemed an inappropriate about-face. Another instance was in 2022 when hundreds of employees wrote an open letter to the then-CEO, which led to increased attention on the flexible work arrangement (FWA) program, reasonable accommodation applications reviewed by non-HBGH personnel, and more robust advocacy in the DEI space. Under the previous CEO, it also led to a firm commitment to only two days a week in the office.

Andy W: Workman, the division I’m in, went through really terrible layoffs in 2024 where departments lost key staff or were even fully cut, and decades of institutional knowledge were lost very quickly. And, we’ve been enduring more quiet dismissals in the months and years since. Sometimes, you don’t know someone you worked with all the time is gone until you email them and get their bounceback. It’s made business difficult, beyond the obvious morale impact. So, for some people, the final straw was their lack of job security, being unfairly passed over for a promotion or merit increase, or not always receiving even an accurate cost-of-living adjustment. This all added up to too many issues for one-off fixes. We needed to unionize to ensure across-the-board accountability and enforcement.

Celia M: Every employee has that one thing that eventually pushed them to organize—whether it was unpaid overtime, company culture, layoffs, or increased in-office days—but it’s only when we came together that we realized these are all shared experiences and not individual concerns. As a unit, we will have the ability to discuss all these concerns openly with management, and we are eager to do so as soon as possible.

PC: What was your read on management’s response when you requested voluntary recognition?

Maria D: We were disappointed, but not surprised, that HBG would not voluntarily recognize us. We understood that we would face opposition and were prepared to stand up and voice the concerns of all of the employees who have come together to demand better. We have gathered a supermajority ready to vote yes in this election.

Andy W: The refusal was incredibly frustrating, but it was also a wake-up call for a lot of folks who were disappointed to see the language in the company pillars of Understanding Consumers, Changing the Story, Owner Mentality, and Growth Mindset really became “talk.”

Celia M: Despite how many years we’ve been organizing and preparing for the company’s response to our efforts, I think there is always that part of you that hopes your company will be different. So yes, it was genuinely disheartening to learn that they were refusing to voluntarily recognize us. Still, it was validating in a way to know that unionizing truly is the only way for us to have a voice, and to see how hard they are working to silence it.

PC: HBG's “You Could Lose” flyer lists pay, bonuses, flexibility, and holiday leave as at risk. Can you explain why those things are not at risk for union members?

Maria D: The benefits they stated that are at risk can currently be taken away at any time by upper management. None of these benefits are protected, and that is why we, as employees, need a seat at the table. We want to keep—and improve upon—the benefits we currently hold by negotiating a fair contract. A wise man once said, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

PC: The company frames the union as a 'third' party. How do you respond to that, given your members are the workers themselves?

Maria D: We respond by simply saying, "We are the union." This is a coalition of hundreds of employees who are dedicated to organizing and enacting substantial positive change. We are talking to each other with real transparency and coming together to use the skills that make our work so special, creating an organization that works for and as the employees at HBG. HBG tries to frame our union as a 3rd party standing between employees and management by focusing on our affiliation with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. That’s not true.

Celia M: For union-eligible employees who aren’t involved yet or have questions about who we are, we strongly encourage you to get involved. Come to a union meeting, talk to us, educate yourself on who we are and what we are working towards. Email us at info@hachetteworkers.com. Because those in HBG management aren’t the only ones with a voice here. We all have the opportunity to speak up.

PC: What does the anti-union campaign look like day to day?

Andy W: HBG hired what HuffPost in 2023 called “Corporate America's Union Busting Firm.” Essentially, they brought in a 3rd party to work with in trying to defeat our union. Currently in the NYC office, management has set up union-busting flyers in our major gathering areas, such as our two kitchens/cafeterias, and has also posted them above major mailing and packaging areas, where employees are otherwise just printing manuscripts or packaging books for shipment. They have flyers displayed on the main TV screens in the office—they’re really blaring out, they’re loud. But this past week, HBG had its inaugural Tri-State Children’s Book Buzz event for educators and librarians to visit and network, and I heard there were logistical challenges leading up to it. HBG ended up taking the anti-union messaging off the screens for the event and putting the flyers in a less conspicuous location, but then put them back up after it wrapped! It feels mystifying to me, like, will you not stand behind your messaging if it’s suddenly not behind closed doors?

Celia M: I think the anti-union campaign was a little slow to get off the ground, but it has really ramped up in the past week or so. There has been a lot of generic anti-union messaging in emails from the CEO and HR. We have meetings on our calendars this week that they sent out around 10:30 pm Eastern last Friday, where they will continue to push anti-union misinformation directly. It’s all the messages we expected to see, but still frustrating to experience, especially when they take priority over our work or cause real fear and anxiety for our colleagues. But I'm also grateful and inspired by how much support and care we all have for each other throughout this process, despite the responses we continue to receive from management.

PC: ​You’ve cited the rollback of emergency childcare days, the shift to three days in the office, and changes to health insurance as major issues the union would like addressed. I know salaries are on that list as well. Can you walk through what each of those looked like for workers?

Maria D: These are direct examples of HBGr rolling back benefits without any input or substantial notification to employees, which would not be permitted if we had a union contract in place. They increased demands to return to the office, affecting all employees, especially caretakers, who are under pressure to balance family or elder care with arbitrary leadership demands, even though publishing work is inherently remote-friendly. They changed healthcare benefits without announcing a major change: employees noticed that their prescriptions were no longer covered or that they had to be changed to a more generic prescription. Prices for these medications also went up. They have lagged in offering compensation that accounts for the rise in living and commuting costs, and even compared to other major US publishers.

PC: HBG’s flyer states that employees can “raise concerns directly” and that leaders are expected to listen. In your experience, what has happened when workers have raised concerns directly?

Andy W: When workers have previously raised concerns directly, in my experience, and from what I’ve learned, getting to know my coworkers so much better by unionizing together, the sense was that, sure, you could raise your concerns, but be prepared to be disappointed by leaders failing to act. There have been so many requests for additional staffing or resource support, so that assistants aren’t covering for three people, or one person isn’t managing production on 50 titles per season, and even requests for staff to help with critical office logistics, which were all flatly shut down. Or, folks who raised concerns about negative trends in the retention of employees of color were given a sympathetic nod, but were never granted any further action, which stings after HBG publicly committed to using the Rooney Rule in hiring. There was no real recourse if you were mistreated or discriminated against by a manager, because HR protects HBG, not the employees. We’ve had cases where problem managers weren’t removed until they stopped generating revenue for the company. What can we do without Weingarten Rights, or just-cause employment protections? To this day, there is still a lot of confusion over the management-led salary band transparency project. It still doesn’t even explain why people in the same role aren’t being paid the same or why, even if you’ve had a stellar year by HBG-set metrics, why that does not seem to lead to any meaningful change in career growth or compensation. Transparent reporting of unequal treatment isn’t the same as actually fixing the unequal treatment. It’s untenable because our concerns are being set aside under the current model that prioritizes profit and growth over equity and sustainability. We need our union to compel effective, just action.

Celia M: In my experience, when you are advocating for yourself or for your colleagues, but you don’t actually have any power to make that change, that change is not a priority. I’m a co-lead for our employees with disabilities employee resource group (ERG), and I’ve heard many stories about management discrimination. I’ve advocated for manager training to directly address these concerns with no result. Maybe they are working on this, but it is not a priority. Maybe they are working on addressing gender and race pay gaps or better representation at the manager level, but on what timeline? A union is the only way we can have the power to make our concerns their priority now.

PC: What does a healthier version of the HBG culture look like to you, and why would a union get you there faster than the current channels?

Maria D: A healthier HBG looks like a more fair and equitable workplace, where employees have a seat at the table to make decisions that are not only beneficial to HBG but also to them. Where employees have a livable wage, job protections, and the right to care about and create art that’s qthat's down to the paper we print on, without feeling the pressure of having everything commodified to grow the bottom line for shareholders. So having a union and bargaining a fair contract will cement these benefits in the culture at HBG, where management can no longer unilaterally remove or change them without us, the employees, having a say in that change.

Celia M: To me, a healthier HBG truly looks like a healthier workforce. One where we are paid a living wage, have a manageable workload, have clear work/life boundaries, and where our physical and mental health is prioritized. I want a company culture where my colleagues and I are empowered to advocate for ourselves rather than feeling scared, and where there is accountability for discrimination and transparent communication about structural and policy changes. Overall, I want a workplace where we all feel safe and comfortable and valued, things that should not be difficult to achieve. These have always been industry-wide issues, and we’ve been over and over that this change isn’t possible without a union.

PC: How can authors, agents, freelancers, and readers meaningfully support the campaign?

Andy W: We’re especially fellow publishing workers and creatives—to stand in solidarity with us by sending a letter via Action Network to HBG leadership to communicate their disappointment in HBG’s decision to pursue union-busting action, and to cease union-busting activity and come to the bargaining table in good faith. Folks can continue signing our open letter in solidarity with the HWC (2300 signatures and counting!), and follow us on social media (Instagram @hachetteworkerscoalition, TikTok, Bluesky, and X @hbgworkers). It has been incredibly heartwarming and uplifting to see the public support stay strong, and I want to stress that posting and sharing about us helps immensely. Keeping up with our movement is essential because this could become your movement too! Unions, and therefore our industries, can thrive if we as workers come together to get involved, support each other, and challenge leadership when they fail to listen or respect their employees.

PC: What’s the timeline you’re working toward — NLRB petition, election date, voluntary recognition push?

Maria D: Right now, we are focusing on setting an election date and eagerly awaiting the NLRB's date and details. We hope to know the date very soon and will announce it on our socials so all of our supporters can follow along with the campaign.

PC: If a reader of Publishing Confidential wants to do one concrete thing this week, what is it?

Maria D: We ask the reader to sign our open letter, where they can sign in support of our efforts: https://tr.ee/Su0EkbD-_4

Celia M: And if you’ve signed our letter, send it to one person in the industry who hasn’t yet!

PC: What do you want the rest of the industry to take away from this, regardless of how the vote goes?

Maria D: Talk to each other. I have noticed a sentiment in the publishing industry that employees across departments and locations feel siloed from one another. This creates the sense that there isn’t a way to communicate directly with your co-workers. But when you start to reach out to co-workers to talk about their work life, you realize that you have more in common than you think. The decisions that come from above affect us all in one way or another. Mail sorting in the office is slowed because HBG laid off the mailroom staff, and we’re now expected to sort and deliver in addition to our daily responsibilities, so we don’t receive the materials we need in a timely manner. A queer employee has to do the research to prove that HBG’s insurance doesn’t cover gender affirming care, whether you’re cis or trans, in order to be believed that there’s a problem across the board. Someone’s manager can’t be in the office one day because they’ve used up their five emergency childcare days (which were ten before HBG cut them without employee input). Suddenly, there’s a backlog in decision-making, and important items get missed, which could’ve been avoided. We can fight for better in all of this if we know what everyone’s struggling with. With that, direct communication comes real power, real change, and a real community. We need to see more of this in the publishing industry, where, regardless of whether there is a union or not, workers come together for a shared purpose. Within each of us is where true power lies.

Andy W: I feel and stand with Maria on this, and really believe that the rest of the industry has the opportunity to take part in an unprecedented paradigm shift if we first learn how to really internalize that we are not in competition with each other but are in solidarity with each other and that we all deserve better. I am so grateful that I even get to work in publishing, and my heart breaks for everyone else who feels the same, and, because of that, feels like they have to accept less than what they’re worth because they believe it’s the only way to stay in publishing. I was part of an extremely touching discussion at a previous Town Hall event, where an employee discussed that little voice in their head that always makes them question if they can ask for more, if they even have the right to. I know that voice, I’ve struggled with it immensely. But. If I am to ask anything, I urge my peers to drown out that voice in their head with the one shouting for justice, because I also know that you all deserve better. We all need better, and we need to unionize.

END NOTES:

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