Overview
- Workers at both organizations won union elections this week, with University of Chicago Press members reporting 89% support among 134 voters and Hachette staff reporting a 388–130 vote in favor.
- The University of Chicago said it will bargain in good faith after the National Labor Relations Board certifies the Press result, and the press’s new unit will soon elect leaders and open contract talks.
- Hachette’s drive covers roughly 600 union-eligible remote and New York staff and will now move to internal elections and collective bargaining while management’s active anti-union effort may complicate talks.
- Organizers say key bargaining priorities include higher pay, stronger job security, protections from generative AI, clearer hybrid work rules, and improved workplace conditions.
- These votes deepen a wider wave of publishing unionization that includes recent wins at other presses and that could change labor standards across academic and trade publishing if initial contracts deliver concrete gains.