Jon Schleuss | The NewsGuild

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette strikers pose at the 2025 Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade

Happy Labor/Labour Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you, like most folks, get the day off today and can use it to recharge.

Since the last Labor Day more than 950 workers have unionized with us from 31 places including the Anchorage Daily News, EdSource, LancasterOnline, the Washington Post Tech workers, Snopes, staffers at Workers United and more!

We’ve won an incredible 31 first contracts at employers including NBC News, CalMatters/The Markup, New York Times Tech, Wisconsin Watch, San Antonio Report, The Hill, Denver Urban Gardens and so many others.

Newsletter: We surrounded the Post-Gazette publisher’s mansion

Whew! It’s been a while since my last newsletter, and that’s because The NewsGuild staff and I were laser-focused on preparing for our 2025 Sector Conference in Pittsburgh! Every two years elected Guild leaders from across North America come together and pass resolutions, make changes to our Constitution and set the vision for our union.

Newsletter: U.S. public media slashed by $1.1 billion

Late last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines to cut $1.1 billion in previously allocated funding for public broadcasting. This rescission effort is part of a coordinated attack on journalists and media workers. Earlier this year Trump began blocking journalists — NewsGuild-CWA members — from attending White House events. His Federal Communications Commission chair has opened investigations into broadcasters including NPR and PBS. And he’s sued several news organizations, including suing the Wall Street Journal just this weekend.

Newsletter: Boss faces contempt charges.

In five days, we’ll be in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette management will be on the defendant’s side of the courtroom.

After 32 months on strike the company is facing two major issues: an enforcement order from the National Labor Relations Board and contempt charges from the NLRB for the company’s failure to follow a rare 10(e) injunction we won in March.

Newsletter: We’re suing DHS for attacking our members

This week we joined journalists, protestors and legal observers suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem for federal law enforcement’s excessive use of force in the protests in Southern California.

Statement on law enforcement targeting journalists in Los Angeles

Media Contact: Dylan Manshack, dmanshack@cwa-union.org | 202-445-4033

WASHINGTON (June 11) — The NewsGuild-CWA, representing more than 28,000 journalists and other workers across North America, released the following statement from Jon Schleuss, president of The NewsGuild-CWA, on the police targeting of reporters in Los Angeles:

Newsletter: 80% YES! at Hearst. Post workers up next.

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I can’t help but almost laugh at how much news is happening across our union since I last wrote to you. Let’s goooooo!

Newsletter: Susan DeCarava of NewsGuild of New York makes history

Radio Free Asia may soon be getting its Congressionally-mandated funding [again]. Late Wednesday the full bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit lifted a stay that had blocked a preliminary injunction ordering the U.S. Agency for Global Media to distribute Congressionally mandated funds to grantees including Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and others. We’ve got about 100 members at Radio Free Asia and the vast majority were furloughed in March after President Trump signed an executive order essentially shuttering the agency and several newsrooms.

Newsletter: Two legal victories, one powerful May Day.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied two motions by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday that would’ve delayed a rare injunction our members won after 30 months on strike. The ruling from the court lets stand an injunction that requires the company to restore pre-2020 health care coverage, bargain in good faith and submit updates on the status of bargaining to the National Labor Relations Board.

Newsletter: Nexstar fired a journalist at The Hill to appease Trump

We’ve had a packed couple of weeks!

On Friday U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth extended the temporary restraining order in our lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Kari Lake and Victor Morales. Last month the Trump administration attempted to shutter the agency, which makes sure news is broadcast into countries controlled by repressive regimes. Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other newsrooms were immediately impacted. But Congress funds these news organizations and they re-upped that support last month in the latest continuing resolution to fund the U.S. government.