As one of the largest and most prestigious university presses in the country, the University of Chicago Press is a leader in academic publishing. It publishes rigorous scholarship, fosters public understanding, and enriches cultural life. This would not be possible without the time, knowledge, and talents that workers from all divisions of the press have invested in its mission. While our day-to-day responsibilities and individual needs may differ, we are bound together in our commitment to advocating for equitable pay, sustainable working conditions, and transparency about how our workplace operates. 

We’re forming a union as part of the Chicago NewsGuild—TNG-CWA Local 34071—joining fellow publishing workers at Oxford University Press and Duke University Press. With our collective power, we can make the press a more democratic workplace for the benefit of all. As a union, we seek recognition of these reasonable standards:

• Pay Equity. We believe that one job should be enough. Press workers deserve pay that reflects the value of our expertise, experience, and contributions and, at the very least, keeps pace with the cost of living. We advocate for fair base compensation, additional raise schedules based on performance, and clear promotion guidelines across the press.
• Sustainability. We believe that a workplace should ensure manageable workloads, maintain appropriate staffing levels, and offer opportunities for career growth, allowing employees to see themselves working there for years to come. We call for protections amid the rise of generative AI, which threatens to degrade our job security, professional integrity, and author relationships. We seek to support the well-being of our coworkers and their families by protecting and promoting policies that meet their diverse needs, including hybrid and remote work agreements, flexible hours, and disability accommodations.
• Transparency. We believe that we should be seated at the table where decisions that impact us or our work are made. We seek to demystify the press’s operational relationship to the university and the bureaucratic policies that prevent managers from hiring, retaining, and rewarding staff. We want to build a culture of open communication within and across departments, in which expectations are clearly defined and the expertise of workers is valued. 

In solidarity with all current and future press employees who care so deeply about the work we do, we hope that workers and management can come together to forge a path toward a more equitable, sustainable, and transparent workplace.