ProPublica Staff Strike Over AI, Layoffs, Wages

Roughly 150 unionized ProPublica staff walked off the job Wednesday for a 24-hour strike, the first in the nonprofit newsroom's history. Workers are asking the public to honor a digital picket line and avoid engaging with ProPublica content. The ProPublica Guild, which unionized in 2023, is negotiating its first collective bargaining agreement. Key disputes include AI use and disclosure policies, layoff protections tied to AI, just cause provisions, and wages. Management says it is committed to a fair contract but argues it is too soon to make firm AI promises.