Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages

Unionized ProPublica staff are walking off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday after the union voted in March to authorize a strike.

The ProPublica Guild has roughly 150 members and began unionizing in 2023.

The Guild is negotiating a collective bargaining agreement; talks have gone on for more than two years without a deal.

Key bargaining issues include protections around AI use, just-cause disciplining provisions, layoff protections, and wages.

Management introduced an AI policy; the NewsGuild filed an unfair labor practice charge and a union member called the policy “unilateral implementation.” Some staff have used AI in investigations, including one into a rollback of DEI programs.