ProPublica journalists walk off the job in first U.S. newsroom strike over AI

On Wednesday, roughly 150 members of the Propublica Guild, one of the largest nonprofit newsroom unions in the country, went on a 24-hour strike. About two dozen Guild members picketed ProPublica’s headquarters in New York City’s Hudson Square neighborhood during working hours, as simultaneous picket lines formed in front of the publication’s offices in Chicago and Washington D.C. On the uncharacteristically cold April morning in Manhattan, strikers bundled up in winter gear as they chanted and carried signs reading “ProPublic Workers: Deserve Fair Pay” and “Thoughts Not Bots.” The Guild has been negotiating its first collective bargaining agreement for two and a half years, and the one-day action was intended to put new pressure on ProPublica’s management to agree to several contract proposals. The union is seeking “just cause” protections for terminations, wage increases to keep up with the rising cost of living, and contract language that would prohibit layoffs resulting from AI adoption. “We have been trying to do this quietly at the bargaining table for two and a half years, and I’m as shocked as anybody that we are out here,” said Katie Campbell, a video journalist and member of the contract action team for the ProPublica Guild. “We need to have this done.” The Wednesday action marked the first time a major U.S. newsroom has gone on strike, at least in part, over AI protections. Bargaining committee members told me there has been little movement from ProPublica management since the strike authorization vote passed on March 20, with the support of 92% of the Guild. That includes the dispute over a provision that would restrict layoffs because of AI technologies. Management has offered expanded severance for AI-related layoffs as a counter proposal. “Broadly trust in journalism is in a really fragile place,” said Campbell, noting the rise of “AI slop” and AI-generated disinformation on social media. “I would think that we would want to be leading the way on something like this. We have an opportunity to be a place that people know that they can always go to and trust that it’s going to be work that’s produced by humans.” On social media, the Guild encouraged readers not to “cross the digital picket line” by refraining from visiting ProPublica’s website or engaging with its stories. They also asked readers not to attend a virtual event about its news app on Wednesday afternoon, which was held while workers who’d organized the event were on the picket line. A petition launched Wednesday calling for ProPublica to agree to the Guild’s contract terms had received roughly 4,200 signatures by Thursday morning. In a statement to Nieman Lab, Tyson Evans, the chief product and brand officer at ProPublica, said, “ProPublica is committed to reaching a fair and sustainable first contract to cement the strong pay and benefits we’ve always provided our staff.” For our story on the Guild’s strike authorization vote, Evans said that ProPublica has never had a layoff in its 18-year history and that the publication is “confident we can continue to navigate future changes responsibly.” Susan DeCarava, the president of The NewsGuild of New York, joined strikers in front of the ProPublica offices yesterday. During a spare moment on the picket line, she told me that while this strike may be setting precedent for her union, it likely won’t be the last over AI adoption in newsrooms. “We’re going to see more and more concentrated conflicts between media bosses and journalists and media workers over who has a say and how AI is used in their workplaces,” she said. For one, The New York Times Guild is currently in contract negotiations after its last agreement expired in February. Already, AI language has taken center stage in the Guild’s initial bargaining sessions, including over a proposal that would see Guild members receive a share of the revenue earned when their work is licensed for AI training. During a midday rally on Wednesday, striking ProPublica employees played acoustic renditions of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and the feminist labor song “Bread and Roses.” The backdrop for the performance: “Scabby the Rat,” the inflatable rodent used by unions across the U.S. to condemn strikebreaking activities. New York City labor leaders from the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the AFL-CIO addressed the crowd, as did Lily Oberstein, the chair of Business Insider’s union, another unit of The Newsguild of New York. Oberstein encouraged members to continue their fight for AI protections, pointing to Business Insider’s own layoffs of 21% of staffers last year. In a companywide memo at the time, CEO Barbara Peng said that Business Insider would be going “all-in on AI” as part of the decision. Beyond the strike, the ProPublica Guild has also taken its dispute over newsroom AI adoption to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On Monday, the Guild filed an unfair-labor-practice charge, citing a “unilateral implementation of AI policy.” The filing claims that ProPublica published AI editorial guidelines on its website last month, without first bargaining with union members over its tenets and language. “We previewed these principles with the bargaining committee before publishing them and they offered no meaningful edits,” Evans said in a statement, calling the complaint “unfounded.” While the dispute over AI may be the most novel part of this strike, more fundamental job protections are top of mind for some employees. That includes a provision that would require a legitimate and documented reason for firing employees, or “just cause.” “There are people who are doing really huge investigations and award-winning work, then suddenly management’s pushing them out. That’s my biggest concern,” said Asia Fields, an engagement reporter and unit member. “ProPublica has such a great reputation — and it deserves that reputation. The journalism is so good, but I think people are surprised to know that management’s been so resistant to even basic protections.” Photos of the ProPublica Guild’s strike rally in Manhattan, N.Y. taken on April 8, 2026 by Andrew Deck.