Author: The NewsGuild-CWA

In a major victory for journalists and media workers, funding for hedge fund Standard General’s takeover of local news broadcaster TEGNA expires while deal is under review due to concerns about its impact on jobs

Washington, D.C. — Thanks to the dedication of members and leaders at the Communications Workers of America (CWA), civil rights groups, and consumer advocates fighting against the financialization of local news, the effort of hedge fund Standard General and its private equity partner Apollo Global Management to take over local news broadcaster TEGNA appears to have failed. 

Late Monday TEGNA announced it was terminating its merger agreement with Standard General and stands to receive a $136 million breakup fee. 

Continue reading “Unions, public interest advocates thwart hedge fund’s attempted takeover of local news and set groundbreaking FCC precedent  “

NEW YORK – The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America today sent a letter to Gannett shareholders urging a vote of no-confidence against CEO Mike Reed at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on June 5. The NewsGuild-CWA represents more than 50 Gannett bargaining units, covering more than 1,000 employees. 

The letter warns that Reed’s actions are jeopardizing the financial future of the company, underlining that the hollowing out of newsrooms was tainting the company’s reputation, turning off subscribers, forcing out talented staff, and creating legal risks by hampering proper vetting of stories. 

Continue reading “Guild calls on Gannett shareholders to vote against CEO Mike Reed at annual meeting”

Job Title/Position: TNG-CWA Senior Campaign Lead
Salary Range: $96,097.59 — $124,430.96 Salary/year

A Senior Campaign Lead may be employed in support of an organizing, political or legislative campaign or another CWA-led movement building project. The Senior Campaign lead must be able to direct and lead a broad campaign. The position would report to the appropriate Administrative Staff.

Job Qualifications:

• At least a bachelor’s degree in relevant field or equivalent relevant experience.
• Have at least 5 years of demonstrated campaign experience in either worker organizing, political or legislative work, corporate campaigns and/or movement building.
• Have demonstrated commitment to economic and social justice and the labor movement.
• Have advanced communications skills, both verbal and written
• Willingness to work long, irregular hours and may involve travel away from home/office.

Job Responsibilities:

• Plan, develop and prioritize strategy and tactics, analyzing what is effective
• Leads and directs campaign work
• Develop and manage a campaign budget
• Identify and work with CWA Locals and community partners
• Write and fully communicate a campaign plan and develop campaign metrics
• Will be accountable for all aspects of the campaign and work to objectives/metrics, directing the work of others towards these goals and producing regular reports
• Develop training materials and train locals, staff and community partners
• Responsible for six (6) month campaign evaluation
• Other duties as assigned

Job Specifications:

• Wages: $96,097.59 – $124,430.96 Annually (Effective 10/1/2022)
• Benefits and other terms as per described in the Memorandum of Agreement.
• This position will not be used to replace regular full time CWA Staff Representatives or District Organizing Coordinators or in lieu of hiring regular full time staff for permanent positions/vacancies.

To Apply:
If you feel you have the background and experience to qualify for this position and wish to apply for it, outline your qualifications and submit a letter of interest online at Apply Here.

CWA is an equal opportunity employer, and, as such, does not discriminate an employee or applicant on the basis of race, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, disability, or any other classification protected from discrimination under applicable law.

On Wednesday, workers at the New York Times and the Washington Post engaged in collective actions, mobilizing hundreds of workers demanding fair contracts. Both groups called on newsroom management to get to the negotiating table and agree to contracts raising minimum pay immediately.

“We are all worthy of fair pay, no matter what our title is,” said Katie Mettler, vice president at the Washington-Baltimore News Guild and a Post reporter covering police, courts and incarceration in Maryland. “We are worthy of fair pay no matter our race or gender or identity.”

In mere minutes, hundreds of Washington Post employees in DC + around the US will step away from work & demand that @washingtonpost management gets serious about bargaining — and bring us a wage proposal, something the Post has refused to do for NINE MONTHS and counting. (1/x) pic.twitter.com/qLgfOk6Fi8

— Washington Post Guild (@PostGuild) April 26, 2023

“We’ve been bargaining for nine months and the company still has not given us a thorough and fair wage proposal,” said Kathleen Floyd, a steward at the Post who works in public relations for the company.

Hundreds of workers gathered in Franklin Park in downtown Washington, D.C. across the street from the Washington Post’s main newsroom. Other workers walked out during lunch across the country.

Around the same time in New York, hundreds of New York Times workers rallied at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, calling on the company to reach an agreement and consider the proposals of about 2,000 unionized workers at the company.

The annual meeting of stockholders of The New York Times Company was held earlier today. Meanwhile, @nytimesguild has its own proposals that should take priority for shareholders and executives alike. pic.twitter.com/aJ5YPTkRwR

— NYTimesGuild (@NYTimesGuild) April 26, 2023

Their demands:

1. Drop the givebacks you are demanding from The Times Guild in contract negotiations at a time of overwhelming financial success for the company.
2. Agree to just cause with no exceptions for The Times Tech Guild’s first contract and all future contracts with Guild units, and stop firing workers without cause.
3. Reappropriate the funds needed to close the gap between The Times Guild’s contract proposals and the company’s, which amounts to less than $15 million — a mere fraction of the $400 million in stock buybacks that has been authorized to go to shareholders.
4. Discuss the contributions of Guild members to the success of the company and how you plan to recognize them in a manner that upholds the values of the company.
5. Commit to regular, frequent bargaining sessions with all Guild units in negotiations.
6. Reach an agreement on a new contract with The Times Guild without further delay.

The actions occurred just two days after hundreds of workers at Insider walked off the job for a day, protesting layoffs threatened by the company.

More than 250 media workers at Insider Inc. struck for one day on Monday, protesting the company’s proposal to lay off 60 Guild-represented journalists, eliminating 20 percent of the bargaining unit and significantly reducing the size of the award-winning newsroom. 

Insider management proposed the sweeping cuts last Thursday, April 20th, as part of a plan to reduce staff while still bargaining for a first contract with Insider Union. Insider Union members are represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

“Our unit was shocked and infuriated when management told us they wanted to lay off 60 of our coworkers even though there’s no urgent financial need for these cuts,” said Emma LeGault, Insider Union Unit Chair. “The company seemingly wants to protect its own profits, but it is us, the workers, who are being asked to pay the price.”

“I’m proud of the work I do for Insider,” said April Joyner, an Insider Union shop steward and Insider Correspondent who is on management’s proposed list for layoff. “Hearing that the company wanted to eliminate my position with no financial urgency was really insulting. I’m proud to walk out with my colleagues and stand united in our fight.”

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

“Insider management is attempting to undermine the bargaining process by proposing staffing cuts while refusing to agree to fair and reasonable layoff language, wage increases, and newsroom protections for the journalists who are central to the company’s success,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. “Insider Union members are demanding that the company bargain in good faith and rescind the effort to push their colleagues out of the newsroom. We are demanding a fair contract that will make Insider the best it can be for everyone.” 

Attempting to do layoffs before a first contract is reached is illegal under U.S. labor law.

Two of California’s largest journalism unions submitted a joint letter of support for the California Journalism Preservation Act (AB 886, Wicks) on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

This marks the first time that trade unions representing American journalists are supporting a bill that seeks to level the economic playing field between massive tech platforms and news publishers.

Continue reading “California guilds submit letter of support for the California Journalism Preservation Act”

Media Contact:
Matt Parr, Private Equity Stakeholder Project Staff Union
PESPcoordinators@gmail.com
773-234-4855

On Wednesday, April 19, the staff of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project announced the formation of a union within the Denver Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local 37074), part of Communications Workers of America – District 7 (CWA). The PESP Staff Union (PESP-SU) is now seeking voluntary recognition from the nonprofit organization.

The 11 employees represent all aspects of PESP’s work activities, supporting nationally-recognized research and campaigns to pull back the curtain on the scope and negative effects of the private equity industry. With the formation of this union, PESP staff look to join the movement of other mission-driven nonprofit organizations that recognize the importance and solidarity of unionized workplaces. Through collective bargaining, these nonprofits, including PESP, can commit to fair and equitable working conditions for employees, while also enhancing the services they provide to marginalized communities across the country.

Continue reading “Employees of financial watchdog nonprofit Private Equity Stakeholder Project form new staff union”

This week workers at Cityside — a nonprofit journalism outlet devoted to covering the Bay Area through two local news sites, Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside — announced their intention to organize as part of the Pacific Media Workers Guild.

With unanimous support of their membership, the Cityside Guild is seeking voluntary recognition from their management.

The Pacific Media Workers Guild (TNG-CWA Local 39521) is helping the workers organize as they build power in their workplace.

Continue reading “Bay Area Journalists at nonprofit Cityside announce union campaign”

MLex and FTCWatch employees across the US came together and formed a union, and are now seeking voluntary recognition as MLex Guild from LexisNexis and its parent company, RELX.

MLex Guild, more than 20 workers at MLex and FTCWatch, will be a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America, and is comprised of employees based in Washington, San Francisco and New York.

Continue reading “MLex employees form union, seek voluntary recognition from LexisNexis”