ProPublica Guild ready to strike

In contract negotiations for more than two years, workers are fed up with management slow-walking contract talks and resisting basic union protections

NEW YORK, N.Y. (February 13, 2026) — ProPublica is known for in-depth investigative journalism that gets to the heart of injustice and corruption, advertising as “Journalism That Holds Power to Account.” Newsroom workers shine a light on stories that need to be told. But the workers who put that mission into action are facing some injustice of their own, as management drags its feet in negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement. More than two years after winning their union, an overwhelming majority of Guild members are now pledging to strike if they must to secure a fair contract.

Workers formed their union in June of 2023, affiliated with the New York NewsGuild and Communications Workers of America. At the time, ProPublica was one of the only national publications of its size and prominence not to have union representation for its workers, per the union. More than 97% of eligible staff members supported the wall-to-wall union, covering editorial, business and operations departments. In August of 2023, the Guild won voluntary recognition, leaving workers optimistic that a strong contract to improve working conditions and job security was in sight.

But more than two years on, workers are still without a contract. Per the ProPublica Guild:

Management has rejected straightforward job protections and due process around discipline. Known as “just cause,” this protection would make our journalism stronger, as it would empower employees to speak up without fear when we see concerns that need to be addressed.

ProPublica management has zealously taken up the fight of its outside legal counsel, Kauff, McGuire & Margolis LLP, which has made a name for itself undermining these protections for journalists in particular. Meanwhile, ProPublica’s existing “discipline” system remains broken and arbitrary, with opaque “performance improvement plans” used as a pretext for termination.

Additionally, management has rejected basic layoff protections, including the use of seniority in deciding who will be hit by those layoffs. This nearly universal element of union contracts ensures that layoffs cannot be used as an end run around Just Cause to target workers management doesn’t like. Management has also refused to codify a promise it has repeatedly made to staff, prospective hires and donors to use the organization’s ample reserve fund to avert layoffs in the event of a fundraising downturn.

And like nearly every unit of newsroom workers currently bargaining with management, ProPublica Guild members are pushing for reasonable guardrails on AI in the workplace, seeking contract provisions that will prevent workers being replaced by AI and require labels on any AI-produced content.

While ProPublica workers are ready to strike if they have to, they remain committed to good faith negotiations for a fair contract. Allies can support the workers by signing their petition to management. It reads:

We, the workers of ProPublica, provide our readers with deeply researched, unbiased news that holds power to account. This work is more important now than ever, but our staff can’t properly contribute to fearless investigative journalism while walking on eggshells around our bosses.

We are fighting for a fair contract that includes industry-standard “just cause” job security, a fair and transparent disciplinary process, union steward representation when requested and guardrails ensuring artificial intelligence does not replace journalists. Our management has said no to all these common-sense protections that we deserve.

You can support us by continuing to support ProPublica and by telling our management that you demand a ProWorker ProPublica!

The ProPublica Guild is also accepting donations to it’s strike fund in case they’re forced to walk off the job. Should the workers reach a contract without strike action, they intend to donate excess funds to other union journalists’ strike funds and organizing drives.