University of Chicago Press Workers Guild members voted overwhelmingly to unionize, making it the latest in a wave of Chicago cultural institutions to organize.
UCP Workers Guild announced on Wednesday that 89% of participating voters were in favor of union representation. The guild has 134 members, making it the largest unit in the Chicago News Guild.
Members will begin bargaining soon for their first union contract.
The guild held its election with the National Labor Relations Board last month. Workers based at the UChicago Press’s campus office voted in person on June 9-10. Out-of-state, remote and eligible workers with the press’ Chicago Distribution Center voted by mail. Some of the Chicago Distribution Center staff are already organized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The press has more than 270 employees and is one of the country’s largest and oldest university presses.
The union formed in May and called for fair wages, protections from artificial intelligence and better work conditions. It also cited a financial crisis at the University of Chicago that has tightened spending at the press and slowed hiring.
Workers will start electing their unit leaders, forming union structures and discussing next steps, Esteban Gil, News Guild organizer, said.
“Management representatives were at the vote count and congratulated us and the workers present,” he said.
“Following certification of the election results by the National Labor Relations Board, the university will bargain in good faith,” University of Chicago spokesperson Gerald McSwiggan said in a statement. “We greatly value the work of UChicago Press employees and their important contributions to the Press’s scholarly publishing mission.”
The press was founded in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the UChicago and remains part of it.
“These election results show that press workers are bound together with a common mission. We look forward to bargaining for a contract that ensures a sustainable and equitable workplace for years to come,” Meredith Nini, senior promotions manager at the press and UCP Workers Guild member, said in a news release.
“This result demonstrates that these workers are ready for real change and a voice in their workplace,” Chicago News Guild President Owen Schmidt said in a news release.
Other book publishers are also organizing. This week, workers at Hachette Book Group, the third-largest trade publisher in the U.S., voted to unionize with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.