Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages | The Verge

NewsAITechUnionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wagesThe 24-hour work stoppage is the first time employees at the nonprofit have walked off the job.The 24-hour work stoppage is the first time employees at the nonprofit have walked off the job.by Mia SatoApr 8, 2026, 11:53 AM UTCLinkShareGiftMia Sato is features writer with five years of experience covering the companies that shape technology and the people who use their tools.Unionized staff at ProPublica, one of the country’s leading nonprofit newsrooms, are walking off the job for 24 hours beginning Wednesday and asking the public to honor a digital picket line.The roughly 150 members of the ProPublica Guild are in the midst of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement after unionizing in 2023. The union says key issues are still in contention, including protections around the use of AI, “just cause” provisions around disciplining or firing an employee, layoff protections, and wages.“We’ve been working to resolve this quietly for over two years,” says Katie Campbell, a ProPublica Guild member. “This is a moment to make clear to management and to the public how important these issues are to the people who produce this work.”The unit voted in March to authorize a strike if a deal was not reached with ProPublica management.One of the major issues workers are walking out over is how generative AI will be used at ProPublica — and disclosed to audiences — going forward. Many newsroom unions are neg...