Local 2110 of United Auto Workers held a rally at 195 Broadway at 12:30 p.m. on Friday as part of their strike for higher wages, a more diverse workplace and better union security for HarperCollins Publishers employees.
The union represents over 250 employees in the editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal and marketing departments.
The rally was co-hosted by R.F. Kuang, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of “Babel: An Arcane History,” and Molly McGhee, the author of the upcoming novel, “Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind.”
“We are asking for other ways to make compensation better for people of color, and make it a more secure place for people of color to work,” said Carly Katz, an audio coordinator at HarperCollins Publishers, in an interview with “Conversations With Cait.”
Lee and Low Books found in a 2019 baseline survey that the publishing industry overall is 76% white and 74% are cis women.
The union represents over 250 employees in the editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal and marketing departments.
The rally was co-hosted by R.F. Kuang, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of “Babel: An Arcane History,” and Molly McGhee, the author of the upcoming novel, “Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind.”
“We are asking for other ways to make compensation better for people of color, and make it a more secure place for people of color to work,” said Carly Katz, an audio coordinator at HarperCollins Publishers, in an interview with “Conversations With Cait.”
Lee and Low Books found in a 2019 baseline survey that the publishing industry overall is 76% white and 74% are cis women.
Katz, who has been with the company for five years, makes about $50,000.
The average salary at the company is $55,000 with a starting salary of $45,000, according to a press release.
Katz said that when she started with HarperCollins Publishers in 2017, 15% of the members were paying dues, and that has now increased to 80%.
“The company isn’t there to protect your rights. The company is there to protect itself, so the union has to be there,” Katz said. “There’s been so much propaganda during my childhood and before that was like, ‘The union, they just take away your money,’ but they don’t. The union is there to support you as an individual.”
In Murray’s letter he also wrote that what the union fails to put into account is the “market dynamics of the publishing industry and [their] responsibility to meet the financial demands of all [their] business stakeholders—including all employees, authors and booksellers.”
Katz said that who he doesn’t acknowledge are the shareholders of News Corporation, the parent company of HarperCollins Publishers, and suspects that he is “probably more invested in them.”
“If HarperCollins couldn’t afford to pay us what we’re asking for, they could show us the books,” Katz said. "They could say, ‘Look, here it is. Here’s the evidence that if we pay you, the company will go bankrupt,’ but they haven’t done that. They’re just saying that we’re asking for too much.”
According to News Corporation, revenue increased by 19% in the 2021 fiscal year.
Katz said that it is common for employees to find themselves working overtime in their 35-hour-a-week shifts with their workload.
“Everybody does a lot, but like when I think about the amount of stuff that editors have to do, and especially editorial assistants, it’s stuff that was like three different people’s jobs that they’ve now compounded into one person’s job,” she said.
In a report conducted by PEN America on the Big Five publishing houses, they found that the company collects DEI statistics, but they are not publicly available, nor do they “have explicit hiring benchmarks and targets.”
Although the union does not want readers to boycott books, they ask for reviewers to hold off from their reviews.
Those who were unable to make it to the rally can still show their support by donating, signing the open solidarity letter and spreading the word on social media, much like what the authors and agents have done.
“We’re really lucky to have such supportive authors. They don’t have to do this, you know, but they are, they care,” Katz said.
You can follow their IG and Twitter pages @hcpunion for more information.
In a letter to authors and agents, which was released shortly after they showed their support for the strike, Brian Murray, the president and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers, wrote that the "current compensation offerings are consistent with [their] peers in the publishing industry."
Katz also said that it’s impossible to have kids with the company's current pay.
“There are constant jokes at the company how if you want to live in New York City, if you want to buy an apartment and work in publishing, you have to have a partner who has money,” the 29-year-old said.
In Murray's letter, he mentioned that part of the discussions between the union and the company are union dues, and wrote that the company believes that employees should have the choice whether to pay them.
Katz also said that it’s impossible to have kids with the company's current pay.
“There are constant jokes at the company how if you want to live in New York City, if you want to buy an apartment and work in publishing, you have to have a partner who has money,” the 29-year-old said.
In Murray's letter, he mentioned that part of the discussions between the union and the company are union dues, and wrote that the company believes that employees should have the choice whether to pay them.
Katz said that when she started with HarperCollins Publishers in 2017, 15% of the members were paying dues, and that has now increased to 80%.
“The company isn’t there to protect your rights. The company is there to protect itself, so the union has to be there,” Katz said. “There’s been so much propaganda during my childhood and before that was like, ‘The union, they just take away your money,’ but they don’t. The union is there to support you as an individual.”
In Murray’s letter he also wrote that what the union fails to put into account is the “market dynamics of the publishing industry and [their] responsibility to meet the financial demands of all [their] business stakeholders—including all employees, authors and booksellers.”
Katz said that who he doesn’t acknowledge are the shareholders of News Corporation, the parent company of HarperCollins Publishers, and suspects that he is “probably more invested in them.”
“If HarperCollins couldn’t afford to pay us what we’re asking for, they could show us the books,” Katz said. "They could say, ‘Look, here it is. Here’s the evidence that if we pay you, the company will go bankrupt,’ but they haven’t done that. They’re just saying that we’re asking for too much.”
According to News Corporation, revenue increased by 19% in the 2021 fiscal year.
Katz said that it is common for employees to find themselves working overtime in their 35-hour-a-week shifts with their workload.
“Everybody does a lot, but like when I think about the amount of stuff that editors have to do, and especially editorial assistants, it’s stuff that was like three different people’s jobs that they’ve now compounded into one person’s job,” she said.
According to the U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics, editors in the publishing industry make an estimated annual mean wage of $ 71,410.
Katz said that although it is very possible that the majority of applicants for HarperCollins Publishers are women, being a woman in itself may play a role in the low salary.
She added that HarperCollins Publishers has Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees, but they are unpaid positions.
Katz said that although it is very possible that the majority of applicants for HarperCollins Publishers are women, being a woman in itself may play a role in the low salary.
She added that HarperCollins Publishers has Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees, but they are unpaid positions.
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| PEN America |
In a report conducted by PEN America on the Big Five publishing houses, they found that the company collects DEI statistics, but they are not publicly available, nor do they “have explicit hiring benchmarks and targets.”
Although the union does not want readers to boycott books, they ask for reviewers to hold off from their reviews.
Those who were unable to make it to the rally can still show their support by donating, signing the open solidarity letter and spreading the word on social media, much like what the authors and agents have done.
“We’re really lucky to have such supportive authors. They don’t have to do this, you know, but they are, they care,” Katz said.
You can follow their IG and Twitter pages @hcpunion for more information.
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