New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a Condé Nast union rally on Wednesday, calling on the company to reinstate four staffers who were fired after a confrontation with the company’s HR head.
“Let’s be clear: New York is a union town,” James said. “Let’s also be clear: the right to organize is enshrined in our laws. And as the attorney general of the state of New York, it’s my entire responsibility to ensure that the laws are enforced.”
“Condé Nast, I’ll see you in court,” she said.
The gathering took place outside Condé Nast’s headquarters in New York’s 1 World Trade Center to protest the firing of four unionized staffers and the suspension of five other union members.
These staffers had confronted Condé Nast’s HR chief, Stan Duncan, about the company’s decision earlier this month to fold Teen Vogue into the Vogue flagship site and lay off several of its staffers. The episode was partially captured in a widely viewed video published by TheWrap.
Condé Nast said in an internal memo that it “took disciplinary action against employees who were engaged in harassing and intimidating conduct that interfered with our business operations.” The company also said the actions violated its collective bargaining agreement with the union and that it had filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
“Most people recognize that the misconduct exhibited by union members last week wouldn’t be acceptable in any workplace,” a company spokesperson said. “Their employment was terminated with cause, as they were in violation of our company policies.”
The Wednesday rally was organized by The NewsGuild of New York and Condé Nast Union, its unit representing around 500 people across about a dozen Condé Nast titles, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and GQ, as well as Teen Vogue. The union also filed grievances with the company and charges with the National Labor Relations Board, demanding that the firings and disciplines be rescinded. (The NewsGuild also represents Business Insider employees.)
Some in attendance held signs that read “I Stand with the Fired Four” and said they were encouraged by the union solidarity.
Teen Vogue, which launched in 2003 as a print glossy and was scaled back to online only in 2017, has a history of political activism, and the union called the layoffs an attempt by the company to silence its cultural and political journalism.
Condé Nast said the Teen Vogue consolidation was part of a broader push to “expand the Vogue ecosystem” and said Teen Vogue would remain a distinct editorial property with its own identity and mission.
Condé Nast employees joined a companywide union in 2022 after some of its individual magazines unionized. In 2024, around 500 staged a one-day walkout to protest planned layoffs.
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