Condé Nast Union has issued a statement addressed to the all-powerful Anna Wintour, ahead of the editor’s biggest show of the year

A notice published on the homepage of Condé Nast Union. Screen shot: condeunion.org

Less than a week before Anna Wintour’s hosting of what is considered the grandest show of the fashion calendar of New York, problems are brewing back in the offices of Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue and GQ. In a notice shared on the homepage of Condé Nast Union (CNU), the brief statement, headlined “Anna Wears Prada: Workers Get Nada”, reads: “While Anna Wintour, Vogue editor in chief, mingles with fellow millionaires at the Met Gala, Condé Nast is refusing to settle a fair contract — and is trying to lay off nearly a hundred Condé Union members.” Following that single paragraph, additional centralised text read: “Tell Anna: Get Serious”. The union members’ demands: “Pay Condé Nast workers fair wages”, “Stop replacing unit members with freelancers”, and “Reach a deal with workers now”.

It is not clear why the member requirements of the union are made public only now other that to draw attention to their cause during a time when eyes are on the Met Gala, an event chaired and organised by Ms Wintour. Apart from underscoring the publisher’s alleged staffing reduction and working conditions, the unionised employees have announced that they intend strike over these issues. A video shared on CNU’s Instagram page showed supposed workers—more than three dozens of them—saying, “I’m ready to strike.” Condé Nast has yet to response to the current drama that could be potentially embarrassing, if not disruptive, to the Met Gala (although Ms Wintour is unlikely to let that happen). It is also not yet known if they will take the strike to the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the Met Gala will be hosted and where the red carpet arrivals will be livestreamed.

Tensions have been brewing

A week ago, a protest was staged in the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, where Anna Wintour resides. Strikers believed that the Vogue EIC and Condé Nast chief content officer “has the power to influence management”, The Wrap quoted a union member. “Hopefully it can shake her into getting management closer to an agreement on this contract.” It seems nothing conclusive came out of that. Last November, Condé Nast announced that they would be reducing its workforce by about five percent, which was estimated to affect about 270 workers. In January this year, more than 400 of the company’s unionised members staged a single-day walkout (coincidentally on the day when the Oscars nominations were announced) to express the seriousness of their demands. It’ll be interesting, come next Monday (or Tuesday here), to see if Rihanna and company will be walking past a group of rowdy protestors before peacocking up the stairs of the museum, as they head inside for the glittery proceedings.

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