Just two weeks before New York’s biggest fashion event of the year, The Met Ball, Condé Nast employees are protesting in Anna Wintour’s neighborhood. The Condé Union staged a 24 hour walk out back in January 2024, to protest proposed mass lay offs and bargaining practices but no resolution was reached. Now, they are passing out flyers near Wintour’s  New York apartment that “bring attention to their fight for a fair contract against her and other executives at the company,”

Shouting slogans including ‘Anna wears Prada, Workers Get Nada,’ and ‘Conde Nasty, You Can’t Hide,’ the workers took to the streets of the West Village in what they claim is also a campaign for livable wages, better access to healthcare and hybrid-work options.

Last November, the media conglomerate announced that it would be laying off five percent of its work force. According to the Union, Condé Nast subsequently revised that plan to one that involved cutting 94 union jobs—which is about 20 percent of the Condé union—and offering the same severance package to union members as other company staffers. Following a counter-proposal put forward by the Union, Condé allegedy offered an even worse deal. Since then, negotiations have stumbled and stuttered and workers on the proposed layoffs list, have been moved out of their previous jobs and into a centralized team working  on mundane tasks, including of writing summaries of Condé Nast’s previous coverage of a variety of topics. In March, the company reportedly laid of several Pitchfork and Wired employees, while at the same time barring them from freelancing for the publications.

Seventy-four year old Wintour serves as Global Chief Content Officer of Condé Nast, a position that she has held since 2020 and which covers all Condé Nast publications worldwide.

The Met Ball takes place on May 6th and is likely to be a target for future union protests. While battling the media furore over the job cuts, Wintour is also under fire for her multi-million dollar deal with TikTok to sponsor the Met Gala. According to page six, she will be joined by TikTok CEO Shou Chew on the red carpet. The news comes just days after President Biden signed a bill into law to either ban the Chinese social media platform or force its sale.