Over 200 Journalists at NBC News, MSNBC, TODAY Digital Walk Off the Job in Protest of Illegal Layoffs and Bad-Faith Bargaining

More than 200 journalists at NBC News, MSNBC, and TODAY Digital walked off the job Thursday morning in protest of their employers' illegal actions and bad-faith bargaining. On January 12, NBC illegally laid off seven bargaining unit members, and informed several others that, while still employed, they were no longer protected by the union.

Under well-settled NLRB precedent, employers cannot conduct layoffs without bargaining with the union during negotiations for a first contract. The Guild and company have been bargaining since 2020, as NBC has refused to agree to industry-standard protections on job security and union work, and has refused to furnish information about its proposals in defiance of its legal obligations.

Workers are demanding NBC reinstate their laid-off colleagues and bargain in good faith over layoff provisions and due process for terminations. Additionally, they’re demanding that NBC return to the bargaining table with a serious commitment to making movement towards a fair contract.

“Any newsroom worth its salt will do what’s necessary to hold power to account,” said Tate James, Video Editor, NBC News. “As union workers and journalists, we refuse to accept NBC’s unlawful terminations, illegal salary cuts, and contempt for our right to bargain. We will not be bullied.” Read more here and in the Pittsburgh Union Progress (published by striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!) and follow the NBC Newsguild here.