Co-op News September 2021

42 | SEPTEMBER 2021
A CLASH OF VALUES AT
LEFT-WING JOURNAL
Susan Press
Staff at an influential left-wing publication in the
US claim they were fired for trying to organise
into a workers’ co-operative.
Current Affairs, a bi-monthly magazine and
podcast, was founded in 2015 with the aim of
making left politics fun and rendering all other
magazines “both despised and obsolete and,
in the process of doing so, to help usher in a
glorious era of democratic socialism”.
Subscriptions, according to the website,
mean that “not only are you supporting a left
media institution with credibility and influence,
but you’re also giving a cheerful middle finger
to wealthy corporations, subservient state
propagandists, and joyless buzzkills across
the world!”
But angry writers and admin staff say several
leading members of their team were ‘unilaterally
fired’ at the beginning of August following
an online ‘virtual retreat’ where editor-inchief
Nathan J Robinson axed jobs to avoid an
organisational restructuring being carried out
on co-operative lines.
Five members of staff, including business
manager Allegra Silcox and managing editor
Lyta Gold, signed a joint letter, released on social
media, in which they claimed the firings were
down to plans to restructure the publication to a
co-operative model.
They claim Robinson feared his editorial
autonomy would be taken away.
“We discussed it informally, we tried piecemeal
reforms, we did a full-organisation survey and
one-on-one interviews with editors and staff
to try to find consensus on a collective vision.
Everyone’s stated goal, including Nathan’s,
was to create a democratic workplace where all
voices were equally valued. But when we finally
got around to discussing organisational models
during a Zoom meeting, Nathan insisted that
in our attempt to set shared internal values, we
were disregarding his vision for Current Affairs.
The next morning, he sent letters requesting
resignations, eliminating positions, and in some
cases offering new ‘honorary titles’ which would
have no say in governance,” reads the letter.
Managing editor Lyta Gold, formerly a close
associate and friend, expressed her discontent
on Twitter: “I’m so sad about all of this. I loved
my job. I loved the articles I edited and the
writers and artists I worked with. I loved the
podcast. I still can’t believe that Nathan tried to
take Current Affairs from us because he didn’t
want to share power.”
Robinson is no stranger to controversy. He
once worked for the Guardian as a columnist but
lost his slot following allegations of ‘fake news’
Tweets about Israel. Born in Stevenage, his
family relocated to the US when he was a small
boy and he describes himself as a ‘libertarian
socialist’.
Amid the latest furore, he has released a
statement in which he admits making ‘terrible
mistakes’ but denies blocking moves to make the
workplace more democratic.