Our detained member’s son was at the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. last night. Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota invited Gerardo Orozco Guzman, the son of Eustaquio “Paco” Orozco Verdusco, our member who was detained by U.S. immigration officers in January. Paco’s family is raising money to support the legal fees, daily expenses, support for his family to travel to visit him in detention in New Mexico and ongoing care for the family. You can support Paco and his family by donating here.
Tonight we’re partnering with CWA in a Know Your Rights training with other members and leaders from across our big union. Starting at 8pm ET we’ll hear from our union leaders in Minnesota and our family at the AFL-CIO in a town hall focused on informing members of their rights on the job and in their community in the face of ICE. Register here.
Tomorrow we’re hosting a digital security training for journalists and other members beginning at 2pm ET. Learn how to prioritize protective measures by protecting accounts and devices, communications and use two-factor authentication and secure passwords. We’ll also cover safeguarding encrypted communications by shoring up your app settings and protecting your devices malware and search and seizure. Register here.
We joined another lawsuit against the Trump administration, marking our fourth lawsuit against the administration in the last year. Last month federal agents hit a Minnesota Guild member and photojournalist with a teargas canister while he was covering the protest of Alex Pretti’s shooting for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A few days later federal agents pushed and threatened to arrest a visual journalist and Guild member at the Associated Press.
We joined the ACLU of Minnesota, who are also Guild members, along with Ciresi Conlin, Forsgren Fisher and Riach Law in the suit which argues that community members and journalists have had their constitutional rights violated by ICE and other federal agents.
I’m proud our union is standing with our members in Minnesota and the community. Every person has the right to observe, gather news and criticize the government.
This suit follows two similar lawsuits we joined in Southern California and Illinois after federal agents attacked journalists covering protests and immigration enforcement operations. In September we won an injunction against the federal government in Southern California.
New York state just opened applications for journalism tax credits we fought for and won! The Albany Newspaper Guild and other New York members successfully advocated for tax credits to safeguard jobs and boost hiring in the state. The legislation was also championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose hometown paper is the Buffalo News. (and they’re longtime Guild!)
The program provides financial support to eligible newspaper and broadcast media businesses operating in New York state through a refundable tax credit with two components: one for retaining existing jobs and one for creating new jobs. The program runs annual through 2027 with a total of $30 million in tax credits available each year.
“This tax credit is a lifeline to journalism, which has been suffering a downturn for decades as a result of the changing economics of the industry,” said Wendy Liberatore, the president of the Albany Newspaper Guild in a statement with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “I would urge all eligible newspaper publishers and broadcasters to take advantage of this program to ensure journalism, essential for a healthy democracy, remains vital in the Empire State. The Albany News Guild thanks Governor Kathy Hochul for supporting this tax credit that will ensure newsrooms remain vibrant throughout the state.”
Newsroom staff at TRiiBE staff announced their union today and sought voluntary recognition to join the Chicago News Guild. Workers hope to build a more sustainable, equitable and people-centered newsroom that serves Chicago’s Black communities.
TRiiBE launched in 2017 to help Chicago’s journalism ecosystem to tell more thoughtful stories about Black people. Workers asked the organization’s top leader to voluntarily recognize their union. You can support them by sending a letter to management.
Journalists north of Philadelphia voted to join the Guild last week in a 8-1 election to join the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia. The journalists work at the Bucks County Courier Times and Intelligencer, which is owned by USA Today Co., formerly Gannett.
“The Courier/Intell has talented reporters and editors, and is the main local news source that Bucks Countians have turned to for 222 years, since the Intell first published,” said JD Mullane, a 39-year veteran of the Courier Times. “It’s a wonderful place to work. It will be even better after we negotiate a fair and equitable contract this year.”
Journalists in Bucks County followed the Columbus Dispatch, also owned by USA Today Co., who voted to unionize earlier this year. This is the 23rd newsroom to vote to unionize at the company in the last decade, and part of a wave of organizing at The NewsGuild-CWA. More than 12,400 workers have unionized with the Guild from more than 280 workplaces in the past decade. (I’m a data journalist, I’m keeping track of this incredible stat.)
Editorial workers at Fortune just won a first contract, lifting wages by 11% over the three-year deal, setting new salary standards, providing job security and more. The new collective agreement includes a $4,000 signing bonus, salary floors ranging from $68,000 to $130,000 and overtime pay.
The contract is the culmination of a multiyear campaign, which includes a 24-hour work stoppage in March 2021, a conference strike threat in August 2021, and a September 2023 lunch-out, among multiple other collective actions.
“Our Fortune Union members refused to give up and accept less than they are worth,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York. “Because they persevered, they won a contract that boosts wages for all and lifts salaries for the lowest paid across the union, along with important job protections like just cause. We say this all the time in our union because it’s true: When we fight, we win.”
Our members who work for the American Nurses Association are facing resistance from management at the organization that supports nurses across the U.S. Our contract expired in April 2025 and management has insisted on a merit pay system that lacks transparency, is unpredictable and relies on managers who our union has active grievances against. Our members are demanding management drops its merit-pay proposal and agree to a fair contract. Send a letter to support our members at ANA.
Baltimore Sun journalists slammed the company for running two AI-generated “articles” about Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s state of the state address. The text contained errors and was incoherent. Our union leaders at the Sun and POLITICO joined local NPR station WYPR in an interview posted earlier this week.
“What we’re concerned about as a union is we’ve heard nothing about how this will be used and we’ve heard nothing about what guardrails management is following when they’re performing our work using AI,” said Dan Belson, a Baltimore Sun public safety reporter and unit chair at the Baltimore Sun Guild. “And we’re concerned about this potentially replacing our work and our jobs by replacing the journalism we do with AI generated slop.”
Our members have sent a demand to bargain over AI at the Sun.
Ariel Wittenberg, a reporter and union leader at POLITICO, also joined the discussion and outlined how the company violated the collective agreement by rolling out an AI tool without bargaining. And the tool itself is spreading misinformation and doesn’t follow the publication’s style guide.
The 22-minute interview shows how news publishers are increasingly rolling out AI tools that spread misinformation and undermine the quality of publications.
This Black History Month I want to tell you about Marvel Cooke, who was one of the most influential journalists of her time — but you’ve probably never heard of her. Cooke was a crusading journalist who understood long before it was widely accepted that journalists are workers, and that newsrooms must reflect the communities that they serve. She was also a Guild member who founded one of the first chapters of the American Newspaper Guild (our old name!) at the New York Amsterdam News and led one of the first journalist strikes in U.S. history.
Cooke was also the first Black journalist at the Daily Compass where she led an undercover investigative series into the Bronx Slave Market that exposed the exploitation of domestic workers during the 1940’s. Cooke’s investigation resulted in reforms in NYC and led to organizing efforts that the National Domestic Workers Alliance would later confront.
Despite her contributions to journalism and the labor movement, Cooke was blacklisted during McCarthyism and almost erased from history. Amid McCarthy’s government-led witch-hunt, progressive outlets like The Compass closed, and Cooke pivoted to working as a full-time activist. In the 1970s, Cooke was a key leader in the successful fight to free Angela Davis from prison.
In an interview with On the Media about the life and legacy of Marvel Cooke, Carla Murphy, a journalist and member of the National Association of Black Journalists, said, “She’s me in an earlier time and I’m bothered I’ve never heard of her and that I don’t know her contributions which are massive.”
The CWA Human Rights department is hosting a town hall beginning at 7pm ET tonight highlighting the journey of CWA’s African American history and its many contributions to the labor movement. Register here.
The next Guild steward training continues at 8:30pm ET March 5 with an overview of how stewards maintain effective union structures and assess collective power in the workplace. Register here.
In solidarity,
Jon Schleuss
President
NewsGuild-CWA