Author: NewsGuild of New York

The afternoon work stoppage comes in response to ongoing threats of discipline by management over The Times’ unlawful return-to-office edict.

NEW YORK – The Times Tech Guild – the largest union of tech workers with collective bargaining rights in the country – will walk out this afternoon in protest of the New York Times’ flagrant disregard for their rights as union members. Times management has continually attempted to coerce members to comply with its unlawful return-to-office policy.

The nearly 700-member union – which includes software engineers, data analysts, project managers, product managers, and designers at the New York Times – will begin their walkout at 1 p.m. They will exit the building at 40th Street (between Seventh and Eighth avenues) and hold a rally, followed by an afternoon of picketing around The Times building. Some members will be in Halloween costumes, to not only mark the upcoming holiday but to demonstrate that they aren’t “scared” of Times management’s anti-union tactics.

Workers who are remote will sign off at 1 p.m. and participate in a digital rally and picket via Zoom.

The Tech Guild, which won its union election by a landslide in March 2022, is negotiating its first contract. The NewsGuild of New York, the labor union that represents the Tech Guild, filed an unfair labor practice charge in September 2022 about Times’ management’s edict to return to the office. In August, Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board found merit to the charge and supported the Guild’s position – that return-to-office is a mandatory subject of bargaining.

Despite that, Times’ management continues to pressure Tech Guild workers to come into the office, including threats that failing to work in-person will impact performance evaluations that determine raises and bonuses. It’s one reason why the Tech Guild is fighting so hard for “just cause” in their contract as a fair standard that management must adhere to when disciplining or firing an employee.

“The Times is now not only refusing to recognize our rights to bargain on return to office but is now going a step further and using it as a tactic to intimidate us,” said Kathy Zhang, unit chair for the Tech Guild. “This afternoon’s work stoppage is to send The Times’ senior leadership a strong, unmistakable message: We will not stand by and allow you to trample on our rights.”

Times management has fought the Tech Guild every step of the way since they first announced their intention to be a union in 2021. It’s a pattern of behavior by the company that’s one of the reasons why the Tech Guild is bringing attention to their contract fight to the public with their walkout.

“Today’s rally is about RESPECT for the workers who help make the New York Times the media powerhouse that it is,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of NY. “We are fighting for a fair contract that protects our Tech Guild members from arbitrary and unlawful work rules. We much prefer to work with a partner across the table in good faith, but that can’t happen until Times management stops violating our members’ rights and labor law.”

Members of the Reviewed Union, which represents workers at Gannett’s flagship consumer review site, will walk off the job on Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event today in protest of management’s failure to schedule bargaining dates and revocation of overtime pay from hourly employees after the announcement of the union last year. The Reviewed Union is one of more than 50 Gannett bargaining units represented by The NewsGuild-CWA.

The more than 40 writers, editors, art, community, lab, and operations team members at the Gannett-owned e-commerce and product review outlet will walk out during the shopping holiday unless bargaining dates are provided and overtime pay restored. Workers are calling on shoppers to respect the “Click-it Picket Line” by refusing to interact with any of Reviewed’s Prime Day content during the walkout.

Continue reading “Gannett’s Reviewed Union walks out on Prime Day”

Media Contact: Addy Baird, addy@nyguild.org, 801-368-5867

Fifteen years after ProPublica published its first investigation, employees of the award-winning, nonprofit investigative newsroom announced today that they were forming a union, the ProPublica Guild. The announcement comes as a slew of newsrooms have organized and, increasingly, won major material gains for members.

The ProPublica Guild announced their wall-to-wall unit with 90% support across the business and editorial sides of the newsroom. On Wednesday, members requested swift recognition of the ProPublica Guild from ProPublica President Robin Sparkman, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg and members of the masthead. The ProPublica Guild will be represented by The New York NewsGuild, CWA Local 31003.

Continue reading “ProPublica workers form a union and join the Guild”

Following longest digital media strike in decades, Insider workers win $65k salary floor, significant healthcare cost reimbursements, no layoffs through end of 2023

NEW YORK – After a two-year fight for a first contract and a 13-day ULP strike – the longest digital media strike in history – members of Insider Union today announced that they have reached a tentative agreement with management, including settlement of a ULP related to management’s unilateral changing of workers’ health care coverage. The approximately 250 members of Insider Union are represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

The three-year agreement, which must be ratified by Guild members to go into effect, includes huge wins for unionized workers at Insider, including:

• A wage floor for union members of $65,000;
• Immediate raises of 3.5% for the vast majority of union members, followed by 3.75% raises in 2024 and 3% raises in 2025;
• Layoff moratorium through the end of the year for union members;
• Just cause, no exceptions, from day one of employment;
• A commitment of more than $400,000 in healthcare cost reimbursements over the course of the agreement.

“The deal we won today shows the power of solidarity,” said Dorian Barranco, a member of the Insider Union bargaining committee. “We came together and refused to settle for anything less than what we were worth, and our collective power won a contract that will resonate in newsrooms across the country. It’s never an easy decision to go on strike, but today’s victory proves it was well worth it. We’re excited to get back to work with our new wins in hand.”

In April 2021, more than 300 employees at ​​Insider announced they had formed a union of workers across editorial, including reporters, editors, video producers, and designers. Insider Union was officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board the following June after workers voted 241-14 in favor of unionization.

In November 2022, the Guild filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against Insider with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the company unlawfully changed workers’ health care coverage. In May 2023, the NLRB found merit with the union’s ULP.  

In April, members of Insider Union held a one day walkout four days after the company proposed laying off 60 union members. As part of settling this contract, the Guild bargained for many of the initially proposed members to remain in their jobs, and members who were laid off received an enhanced severance package.

The union’s campaign culminated with an open-ended ULP strike that began on June 2. During the strike, the White House weighed in to support workers, saying in a statement that “all workers deserve a voice in the workplace, and journalists are no different.”

“Being on the picket line and experiencing the power and solidarity we have as workers is going to stick with me forever,” said Daisy Grant, an Insider Union member. “The $65,000 salary floor we won as a union will be life-changing for me, and I know it will be for all the early-career journalists that come after me too.”

Once ratified, the Insider Union agreement will be the latest in a wave of NewsGuild contracts that are resetting industry standards. 

It comes on the heels of another major victory by The New York Times Guild, which ratified a groundbreaking new contract that also includes an immediate $65,000 salary floor. The 1,500 members of the Times Guild are also represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

“There is power in a union, and this tentative agreement with Insider reflects the power of this unionized newsroom. Insider management may have thought that their union-busting would break our solidarity, but instead, we’ve become stronger. We’re redefining what journalists can expect to win in the workplace. I am inspired by the courage of our members at Insider Union. They’ve demonstrated–quite literally on a picket line–that when workers come together and fight for their worth, anything is possible. Especially a strong contract!” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. 

Vote follows management illegally changing workers’ health care and a proposal in April to lay off 20% of bargaining unit

Insider Union announced today that a supermajority of union members voted in favor of authorizing their bargaining committee to call a strike. Members are calling for the company to bargain in good faith and are protesting management’s decision to illegally change workers’ health care. Members are also demanding a resolution to a proposed layoff that would reduce the newsroom by 20 percent, as they are bargaining for a fair first contract. The nearly 300 members of the Insider Union are represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

94 percent voted in favor of strike authorization on Tuesday afternoon after a bargaining session with Insider management. 80 percent of the bargaining unit participated in the vote.

Continue reading “Insider Union votes to authorize a strike”

Five-year contract includes immediate $65,000 salary floor, hybrid work options, a ban on NDAs, new investments in local news around the country

Agreement reached after a series of escalating collective actions by workers, including the first full work stoppage since the 1970s

NEW YORK — The New York Times Guild, a unit of The NewsGuild of New York, announced on Tuesday that it has reached a tentative agreement with The New York Times Company on a new collective bargaining contract after more than two years of negotiations. The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by members to go into effect, is a five-year deal that will be effective until March 2026.

The agreement will set new standards for working conditions, wages and benefits across the media industry. The deal addresses a majority of the provisions that Times workers have demanded since their previous contract expired in March 2021, at the height of the pandemic. 

Continue reading “New York Times Guild wins groundbreaking contract agreement”

The NewsGuild of New York released the following statement from President Susan DeCarava in response to an announcement from BuzzFeed News that it will be shutting down its operations:

“We’re deeply dismayed by the announced closing of this groundbreaking digital newsroom. Dozens of journalists represented by The NewsGuild of New York work at BuzzFeed News, and we are concerned both about their future and the broader impact of this announcement on the media industry at large.

The collective bargaining contract that the BuzzFeed News Union won in 2021 includes a number of protections to ensure workers aren’t left with nothing in case of sudden layoffs. We expect that BuzzFeed will honor those commitments now, and we are prepared to enforce the terms of that contract if they don’t.

Today’s news demonstrates why it’s so important for media workers to unionize. Corporate bottom lines privilege profitability all the time. As a union, our collective bottom line is to the workers who made BuzzFeed News the innovative news organization it is, and to the communities and public interest that the newsroom and our members serve. There are real life consequences when management favors short-term returns over long-term investments. That’s why we fight hard for contracts that provide protections and support for workers unfairly left holding the bag from a company’s questionable decisions.”

Continue reading “NewsGuild of New York responds to the shutdown of BuzzFeed News”

For immediate release: February 8, 2023
Media contact: communications@nyguild.org, 646-761-1991

Workers call out NBC Universal for repeatedly breaking the law, most recently illegally laying off union members 

Along with illegal actions, workers are fighting back against bad-faith bargaining

NATIONAL — This morning, NBC Digital News Guild, a union representing just under 300 workers across NBC News, MSNBC, and TODAY Digital, sent a letter to management announcing that a supermajority of workers in the unit are committed to walking out on Thursday, February 9, unless the company walks back their unlawful actions. 

On January 12, NBC illegally laid off seven bargaining unit members, and informed several others that, while still employed, they were no longer protected by the union. The union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the company at the National Labor Relations Board on January 13. 

Under well-settled NLRB precedent, employers cannot conduct layoffs without bargaining with the union during negotiations for a first contract. NBC knows this precedent well, previously having been found by the NLRB to have violated federal law by cutting union salaries in 2020 without bargaining. The NLRB was affirmed by the DC Circuit, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of back pay delivered to union members this year.

Continue reading “Over 200 Journalists at NBC News, MSNBC, TODAY Digital Plan to Walk Off the Job”