The NewsGuild-CWA 2025 Sector Conference

August 8-9, 2025 | Pittsburgh, Pa

Overview

The 2025 Sector Conference of The NewsGuild-CWA will be held on Saturday, August 9, in Pittsburgh, Pa. with workshops held from 1-5 p.m. ET the day before, on Friday, August 8. 

NewsGuild-CWA delegates set union policy at the Sector Conference. The Sector Conference may adopt rules, conduct Sector business, pass resolutions and amend TNG-CWA’s Constitution.

Meetings and lodging will both be at the Wyndham Grand, 600 Commonwealth Avenue. The sector conference will be followed by the CWA Convention, August 11-12 in Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 

The deadline to submit resolutions for the Sector Conference is July 25. Submit resolutions to Executive Vice President Marian Needham at mneedham@cwa-union.org.

Registration

Sector Conference Online Registration (SCOR) / Instructions
Cost: $125
In-person registration to get your badge will be on Friday morning and afternoon in the lobby outside the Commonwealth Room at the Wyndham Grand.

Hotel lodging

Wyndham Grand
600 Commonwealth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
$184 per night plus taxes. Reserve by July 15, 2025
Reserve here

Sector Conference Delegate & Alternate check-in

11 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET Friday, August 8
Wyndham Grand

Workshops

1 – 5 p.m. ET Friday, August 8
Fort Pitt and Smithfield rooms
Wyndham Grand

Stronger Together: Pattern and Joint Bargaining
1-2 p.m.
Can we strategically pick organizing targets that might make bargaining easier and more effective? How do we get workers to support the pattern and agree on collective demands? How can we bring different Guild locals together to support joint bargaining? How do we get to joint tables and what has worked and failed? Can we increase employer buy-in? How does it work in other industries? We’ll look at real-world examples in Gannett, McClatchy and Alden’s Tribune and Media News Group to learn how we can advance our power by coordinating more. 

DEI & AI: Hot Topics in Bargaining!
1-2 p.m.
More than three dozen NewsGuild-CWA contracts address artificial intelligence in some way. Three years ago no contracts explicitly dealt with AI. And diversity has long been a core component of the Guild’s collective bargaining program, however it’s come under attack by the Trump administration as employers move to reduce their diversity, equity and inclusion policies. DEI and AI are hot topics in bargaining. What are some of the trends we’re seeing? What’s the strongest language? How did Guild members win that language? Hear from members and local leaders about how they fought for and won strong contract language.

Building Community Campaigns/Legislative Organizing
2:15-3:15 p.m.
More and more dollars from hedge funds and other sources are fueling proposed legislation to inhibit a free press and keep the public uninformed/undermine democracy/etc. Other unions representing journalists and media workers (SAG-AFTRA, WGAE, NABET, etc.) are pushing back. As the premier union representing journalists, how can we develop an effective program to ensure our interests for a free and diverse press are represented to legislators?

Recharging Leadership
2:15-3:15 p.m.
This discussion is intended to help leadership find time and energy to get things done and engage and re-energize their members and themselves. How do we develop sustainable local structures to take on new organizing, run vibrant contract campaigns and pursue strong contract enforcement without becoming overwhelmed?  What are effective strategies for identifying new leaders and building them up  inside our workplaces and locals? How do we effectively distribute and delegate work while helping to build the skills of new leaders?  How do we stay ready for the next fight while under contract? What is the role of democratic decision making in a member-led organization?

Old Ideas and New Ways to Get to a First Contract  
3:30-5 p.m.
With waves of successful organizing, members across The NewsGuild-CWA often face difficulties getting to a first contract. Organizing can happen fast and contract bargaining can then take years, even at companies where we have existing relationships and contracts. Are legal strategies a thing of the past under the current NLRB? When helping workers organize a Stage 4 contract campaign, how do we approach setting expectations for what winning a “strong” first contract looks like? Knowing that the majority of our first contracts are being negotiated at “hot shops,” how do we strategically set up workers to win and enforce their first contracts as they build power long term? Would more limited asks at the table get us to a first contract faster and build power quicker? What changes in our approach would accelerate the timeline to a first contract? What collective actions have moved the timeline?

Delegate count

Locals must have made per capita payments through the month of April 2025 to be in good standing for the sector conference. The number of delegates for each local is determined by the average number of per capitas paid by the local in the averaging period described in Article VII.2(c) of the Guild constitution. For the 2025 Sector Conference, the averaging period is April 2024 through March 2025. The number of delegates allocated to each local is shown in SCOR.  

Both the Guild and CWA constitutions require that delegates and alternates be elected by secret ballot. The formula CWA uses for allotting convention delegates differs from the Guild formula and yields fewer delegates.

The Sector Conference adopts rules for the conference. The 2023 rules are in effect until the Sector Conference commences in August.

CWA Convention

August 11-12
David Lawrence Convention Center
1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Convention website