Law360 union members issue vote of no confidence

Unionized journalists at Law360 say Teresa Harmon, vice president of legal news at LexisNexis, has been a failure at the helm of the legal newsite, citing numerous serious issues including recent unlawful and purposeless layoffs, disrespectful bargaining tactics and a lack of any clear editorial vision for the news operation.

Members of Law360 Union, represented by the NewsGuild of New York, presented management with the no confidence letter, signed by a majority of the union, at Wednesday’s bargaining session.

“We, the Law360 Union, are profoundly dismayed and disillusioned with your leadership as the Vice President of Legal News at LexisNexis. This letter is an expression of our Vote of No Confidence, taken because we have lost faith in your ability to manage in a way that allows this company to succeed and fosters a healthy workplace environment,” the letter says.

The union’s current contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022, and negotiations have been ongoing since then to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement.

From the letter: “During bargaining, you and your leadership team have repeatedly disrespected the employees that make Law360 what it is — us, the Law360 Union — with needless delays, antagonistic hardball tactics and offers that undervalue our hard work. The Law360 Union has asked, in a nutshell, to bring our salaries in line with historic inflation and to bring our benefits a step closer to those of our competitors. Management has responded with a series of insulting lowball counteroffers and a surprise healthcare proposal that amounts to an effective pay cut. This is unacceptable.”

In February, LexisNexis executives congratulated themselves on the company achieving its highest revenue growth in decades. The same day, Harmon and the leadership team announced they would lay off 26 members of the Law360 Union.