Democracy depends on journalism.
I am calling on every one of our members to affirm that when we act together we have power.
In 2021, our members will fight to protect their jobs and democracy. That is why I am introducing my new vision as NewsGuild president: NewsGuild Strong.
With this new vision, we will empower our journalists and other workers and our communities to take back our workplaces.
We are NewsGuild Strong. We are CWA Strong. We are Union Strong.
This is all part of our goal of building our power — both on the job and across our industry so we can win stronger contracts and make the industry more diverse, sustainable, and equitable.
What does NewsGuild Strong mean? It means:
- Practicing The Organizing Model, which proves every member can and should own their union.
- Stewards are key. Building strong infrastructures in our units, including one steward for every ten workers, with regular one-on-one conversations and action around issues.
- Strikes. One of the strongest actions union members can take is withdrawing our labor. Building escalating campaigns that culminate in successful strikes is necessary to rebuild our union and collective power in our industry. As we saw with the successful work stoppage at The New Yorker, when workers unite and take collective action they can win.
- Relationships with our readers and the public. We need to engage our communities in the fight to protect journalism.
What is the NewsGuild Strong vision for bargaining? It means:
- Open bargaining sessions to all members
- Members empowered to bargain their own contracts
- Members designing contract campaigns with timelines of escalating actions to ensure strike readiness
- NewsGuild staff will organize members to own their contract campaigns
How will we get there?
We will do it together! It will be challenging, but I know that when we come together, we can achieve anything.
Here are some practical ways we will support NewsGuild Strong:
- Engagement with local staff and members: We will be meeting with members around the country to discuss this plan in-depth and how to build power in each of our locals
- Trainings: We will roll out a series of trainings to build our members skills on topics such as: having effective one-on-one conversations to move coworkers to action, what the organizing model is and how to move your unit towards this model, and how to build strong steward networks.
- Member Organizers: We are revamping our member organizer program to widen our reach and build the skills of more members to continue to organize around the country