Abrams workers seek to unionize with UAW Local 2110 to improve wages and job security.
The UAW petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union vote at Abrams Books.
Current entry-level salaries at Abrams are $40k, below Big Five publishers' $50k.
Editors and staff emphasize respect and fair treatment as key motivations for unionizing.
Abrams is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery, a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. The first company in the United States to specialize in the creation and distribution of art books, it's natural that they should gravitate towards graphic novels, and now have an extensive line of comic books and imprints dedicated to the ninth art. Abrams ComicArts, Abrams Comics, Abrams Fanfare, Kana,Megascope and more, including the Diary of A Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, Frank Miller's line of work and new titles from Darren Aronofsky.
This week the United Auto Workers, Local 2110 union petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to allow employees at Abrams Books to vote on whether to unionize. Employees who would be eligible to vote include editors, publicists, marketers, production managers, designers, and managing editors, as well as sales, distribution, mailroom, IT, and finance staffers at the publisher.
UAW Local 2110 also represents employees at HarperCollins, the only one of the Big Five publishers to have a union, as well as the New Press, the Asian American Writers Workshop, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and Columbia University.
According to a UAW, entry-level salaries for employees at the Big Five publishing houses have topped $50,000 a year since a major strike by HarperCollins workers in 2023, while entry-level salaries at Abrams remain at $40,000 a year. They also cited a lack of job security and the need for greater transparency in the Abrams workplace as reasons to unionize.
Sarah Robbins, an associate editor at Abrams for five years, told Publishers Weekly that "The work we do at the company is essential. Without our labor, Abrams couldn't publish any books. We want to be heard and treated with respect, which includes fair wages and better job protections."
Courtney Code, a senior editor at Abrams for ten years, said, "At a time when book bans are on the rise, I am so proud to work in publishing alongside the most creative, collaborative, and hardworking people I have ever met. Through unionizing, we can protect our jobs at Abrams, empowering us to continue this essential work." Abrams declined to comment.
Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from The Union Club on Greek Street, shops at Gosh, Piranha and FP. Father of two daughters. Political cartoonist.
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