Good morning! We’re coming up on the end of October, despite the weather here in Washington insisting up until a few days ago that it was still Summer. It’s hard to believe there are only a couple of months left in the year!
First up: A couple of weeks ago, we reported the news of Vincent Kukua’s death. Now, here’s a loving obituary crafted by his friend, Andrew Farago. I can only hope I’m remembered half as fondly when it’s my time.
4 Color Fantasies, a comic shop in Rancho Cucamonga, was broken into, with estimated damages topping out over $10,000. If you can, consider stopping by or hitting up their website for an order. They could use the money!
Oklahoma readers! Consider visiting Skasdicon in Tahlequah on November 5th! It’s the Cherokee Nation’s first Indigenous comic convention, and it’d be pretty cool if you went and checked it out.
The Harper Collins Union has voted to authorize an open-ended strike, commencing if a contract agreement is not reached by November 7th, two weeks from today. Contract negotiations have been going on for 11 months, according to the press release the union put out, and Harper Collins has steadfastly refused to agree to contract updates, going so far as to lay off union organizers despite record profits:
While union members were voting to authorize the strike, the company announced layoffs, including a number of bargaining unit employees.
“Management is citing cost-cutting as the motivation for these layoffs, but they fail to specify what other measures have been considered and implemented before putting employees’ livelihoods on the chopping block,” said Stephanie Guerdan, an Associate Editor in Children’s Books who has worked at HarperCollins since 2017. “Brian Murray’s announcement on Thursday also mentioned hiring freezes, which the company denied were happening earlier this fall. It is no surprise that our members do not trust management and want to see their commitments reflected in a union contract. We need a tangible change and not empty promises.”
The mainly women workers average $55,000 annually, with a starting salary of $45,000. Many employees cite pressure to work extra hours without additional compensation. The company, one of the top five book publishers globally, reported record-setting profits in the past two years.
Currently, the union is asking for folks to email Harper Collins’ PR team with a polite message of support for the union. That contact email is peopleteam@harpercollins.com.
