The Forbes Union has walked out after publishing the company’s annual “30 Under 30” list.
The list’s Class of 2025 features individuals across industries such as sports, entertainment, energy and green tech, artificial intelligence, food and drink, venture capital, marketing and advertising, science, and gaming, among others. Boston Celtics player Jayson Tatum, country artist Shaboozey, actress Ryan Destiny, Miss EmpowHer founder Caitlyn Kumi, and Foundry Technologies founder Jared Quincy Davis are some of the individuals listed.
A total of 600 individuals are featured, collectively contributing $3.6 billion in funding and amassing over 300 million followers across social media, Forbes states. Unsurprisingly, the list generates significant buzz and excitement among readers.
It’s precisely for these reasons that editorial staffers made a calculated decision to stage a walkout, drawing attention to a three-year-long battle.
“The Under 30 list is a really high profile list for Forbes. It gets us a lot of attention,” Andrea Murphy, unit chair and statistics editor for Forbes, said, according to Fox News Digital. “But it does take the work of basically every single team in the newsroom, months and months of work to put a list like this together. The scope is intense. There’s not really one part of the newsroom that’s not involved in this, and so we felt like walking out on this day kind of highlights how much work it takes to do this level of journalism day in and day out.”
“CEO Mike Federle said at a recent town hall that management is eager to get a contract, but that it seems like a very long way off. That’s because of his actions and that of management,” Murphy told the outlet. “We have been and will continue to be ready to get this contract done, including pay that recognizes the value we bring to Forbes.”
While employees remain hopeful for an 8% yearly raise, a $75,000 wage floor, union protections, a 15% raise upon promotion, and weekend compensation, management’s current offer includes a 1% annual raise, a $60,000 wage floor, a 5% raise for promotions, and no additional pay for weekends or overtime.
“It’s just disappointing when you have people in management like our editor-in-chief Randall Lane saying things like, ‘I want us to have the best contract in all the media’ and then you have the company showing up, proposing 1% raises and a salary floor of $60,000,” Murphy expressed. “That’s not the best contract in media.”
The delay in formalizing an agreement could be attributed to the possibility of new ownership, says Forbes staff writer Hank Tucker, who is vice chair of the union.
“We’re also walking out not just for wages, but for good severance protections, good layoff protections, because I think everyone sees examples of when a new owner buys a company and makes some layoffs pretty soon after taking control,” Tucker commented to Fox News Digital. “We want protections to combat that, and it seems like Forbes is trying to hold us off maybe until a new owner comes in and can make those decisions for themselves on where to prioritize in the contract on their end.”
A Forbes spokesperson has spoken on the matter adding they are in talks with the NewsGuild of NY, which is over the union, to reach a collective bargaining agreement. Currently there are pending agreements on eight proposals.
“While we respect their right to stage a walk out, we are disappointed by the NewsGuild’s decision, especially when we have a bargaining session scheduled tomorrow and a willingness to meet across the month,” the spokesperson said to the outlet. “In the meantime, Forbes continues to serve its audiences and publish its content across platforms.”
