Journalists powering Signal Ohio’s nonprofit newsrooms in Akron, Cleveland and Columbus are coming together to form a union with the Northeast Ohio NewsGuild, Local 34001 of Communications Workers of America.
The staff of Signal Ohio went public with their union drive on August 26, with more than 80% of eligible employees signing union cards to form the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild.
“Strong local journalism depends on well-supported journalists,” Signal Akron Culture and Arts Reporter Brittany Moseley said. “Joining the News Workers Guild will provide my colleagues and I the resources we need to better serve our communities.”
The SONWG is requesting the organization’s leadership voluntarily recognize the union and work with staff to create its first-ever contract. If not recognized voluntarily, workers will seek an election monitored by the National Labor Relations Board.
“We care deeply about the communities we serve and the journalism we produce,” members noted in their mission statement. “Many of us are founding members of our newsrooms, the first of which launched nearly three years ago, and all of us are committed to seeing them succeed.”
All 14 of the organization’s current full-time reporters are backing the move.
“My role has led me to telling the stories of the working class citizens who are the heartbeat of the city,” Signal Cleveland Community Reporter Najee Hall said. “Supporting unions means supporting the rights of people to stand together, negotiate fairly and build a future rooted in mutual respect and shared success.”
The group’s mission statement also nodded to the organizations’ ties to the “civic muscle” it has built in its newsrooms as well as with its Documenters programs in Cleveland, Akron
and Cincinnati. Those programs steward communities of curious residents who are trained and paid to document local government meetings, creating a new public record.
“Signal Ohio—with three vibrant Documenters communities at its core and a band of tenacious, thoughtful reporters to pair with them—is distinctly positioned to do journalism differently,” said Signal Cleveland Documenters Assignment Editor Doug Breehl-Pitorak. “Our union will deliver the support my coworkers and I need to reach and sustain that potential.”
SONWG is joining the historic Local News 1 union, which represents journalists at four additional news organizations across Northeast Ohio.
“The employees at Signal Ohio cover the issues that matter most to the people of Ohio every day. We’re excited for them to join with us in building sustainable and quality journalism in Ohio,” said Tim Botos, President of The Northeast Ohio NewsGuild and a staff writer at the Canton Repository.
The NewsGuild-CWA is the largest union of journalists and other communications employees in North America, representing more than 25,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada. The NewsGuild is a sector of the Communications Workers of America, which represents employees in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields.
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.
This year opened with tributes to our Pittsburgh strikers, now more than 1,039 days on the line, and delegates kept energy high throughout. I spoke about our record growth in organizing and strikes, our contract wins and the escalating attacks we face from employers and the Trump administration.
We also gave our leaders from Canada the first ever collective agreement signed with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a historic document from 1953 signed by the president of Local 213 which became the Canadian Media Guild we have today. One of the signers was Charles Dale, who was born in Nova Scotia and was The NewsGuild’s president from 1987-1995.
We celebrated Executive Vice President Marian Needham, who announced she’ll retire in 2027 after a lifetime of service to our members. The room rose to its feet for a lengthy standing ovation. I, alongside 12,000 other members, wouldn’t even be in our union without Marian. We owe Marian a debt that can only be paid by paying it forward.
Directly after our conference we had the CWA Convention. Most of our delegates stayed for that. See the resolutions and proceedings here. And we wrapped up our time in Pittsburgh by picketing outside the Post-Gazette publisher’s house, where dozens and dozens of CWA members and leaders turned out, to chant, sing and stand with our strikers.
Our strikers were in mediation this week with Post-Gazette management, as ordered by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The company is staring at contempt charges and a National Labor Relations Board enforcement order. Subscribe to the Pittsburgh Union Progress to get the updates as they happen.
A lot more has happened since my last update. Let’s dig in.
Workers at the Maine Trust for Local News launched a “One Big Union” campaign to unite nearly 200 employees under one contract. While more than 150 workers are already union members, nearly 50 colleagues are still excluded from the protections of collective bargaining agreements, even though they are part of the same company under common ownership. That means that they see staggering pay disparities and are more vulnerable to layoffs.
This week, those workers filed for recognition with the News Guild of Maine, Local 31128 of TNG-CWA, and rallied outside company headquarters in South Portland.
“Today we demand equal pay, equal respect and the same job securities that our represented colleagues have,” said staff writer Kendra Caruso. “As one company, one union and under one contract, we will hold the company accountable to its stated mission.”
Workers at Mission Local announced their union at the largest nonprofit newsroom dedicated to San Francisco, joining the Pacific Media Workers Guild, Local 39521 of TNG-CWA. The newsroom’s 13-person full-time staff want a fair contract that supports both the outlet and its workers as it continues to grow.
“Forming a union is a natural next step as we grow from a small, scrappy team into a highly professionalized outlet,” said Vicky, Mission Local’s donor engagement lead. “On the business side, we have big plans to expand our operations and having a union will ensure we are centering the well-being of our budding team in our goals for the future.”
IGN Entertainment laid off eight members of the IGN Creators Guild just days after staff pulled off two major live events, IGN Live and San Diego Comic-Con. The cuts came as a directive from its multibillion dollar parent company Ziff Davis, which has continued to pursue costly acquisitions while slashing staff.
“Every single person impacted today was involved in and critical to the success of those events,” workers said in a statement. Workers also pointed out that management is undercutting the very staff who create IGN’s award-winning coverage.
“While IGN Entertainment management may not value us, we value one another and the incredible work we can do together. Behind the articles, videos, social posts, playlists, and maps of IGN are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet to be pushed around when some number at the top isn’t big enough. Without us, there is no IGN.”
Journalists at New York Daily News escalated their fight for a fair first contract with vulture fund Alden Global Capitalalso known as the “destroyer of newspapers”.
Since Alden took over, it slashed staff and sold the newspaper’s printing plant for nearly $100 million. Management refuses to agree to a fair contract that protects jobs, provides a living wage and sustains New York’s hometown paper.
Guild members hired a truck to circle Montauk – the home of Alden president Heath Freeman – sending a clear message: FAIR CONTRACT NOW.
“New York’s hometown newspaper, the Daily News, has been posting critical news and coverage for the last 106 years. But since Alden has taken over, a vulture private equity fund, it has faced severe cuts with just 63 journalists to cover a city of 8.5 million people,” said City Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, who introduced a resolution backing the union.
The cuts have left major beats uncovered—from the governor’s office to the NYC Housing Authority, the migrant crisis and New York’s courthouses. NYDN workers are sounding the alarm that enough is enough. New York needs the Daily News!
The Marshall Project is breaking the law. The nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.S. criminal justice system takes its name from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who decided many important cases, including affirming the right for union represented-workers to demand their Weingarten Rights, which give employees the right to request a representative in interviews where the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.
Marshall Project journalists sent a letter to management pointing out the violations, including the lack of representation in discipline interviews, creating a retaliatory environment, making unilateral changes without bargaining and eroding the legal protections of status quo.
“The Marshall Project, in retaining union-busting law firm Kauff McGuire & Margolis, is willingly participating in the erosion of worker protections across our industry, a project that takes advantage of the current anti-worker political environment,” workers said in the letter. “When The Marshall Project voluntarily recognized our union last year, it touted a ‘longstanding commitment to a fair, equitable and inclusive workplace, with generous benefits.’ We are demanding a return to these values.”
Journalists at The Hill ratified their first-ever union contract with Nexstar Media Group after nearly three years of bargaining. The two-year deal raises salary floors by 18%, guarantees annual raises and doubles paid parental leave from six to 12 weeks. It also locks in just-cause protections, fair layoff procedures, and new safeguards against AI misuse.
“This contract means I’ll be able to spend the first three months at home with our new baby,” said Saul Elbein, who’s on the bargaining team.
Despite the victory, Hill Guild members continue to fight Nexstar’s plans to lay off 22 staffers—even as the company posts record profits.
Workers at City Bureau won recognition after launching their union effort with the Chicago NewsGuild.
Workers at the nonprofit newsroom launched their effort in July and filed for an election soon after seeking voluntary recognition from management. Every worker supported the union, so management rightly realized an election was unnecessary. Now they can bargain for a first contract.
“We look forward to beginning the bargaining process and co-creating an equitable contract that serves workers and the organization we all love,” the City Bureau Workers Guild organizing committee said in a social media statement. “Building a strong, unionized workplace is a journey, and we’ve just taken a major step to bolster our collective power.”
We condemned Israel’s latest targeting of journalists in Gazaalongside the National Writers Union.
Earlier this month Israel killed Al Jazeera correspondents and media workers in an attack in Gaza City. Correspondent Anas al-Sharif was one of Al Jazeera’s best-known reporters and one of several whom Israel had previously accused of being members of Hamas. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Al Jazeera said Israel’s claims were unfounded.
“More journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war than at any other point in recent years,” I said in our statement. “Journalists and media workers should be able to do their jobs safely to report to the world the news we need to know. Our job is to interrogate on behalf of the truth and to challenge those uncomfortable being held to account. Ethical journalism demands that we provide a voice to the voiceless and journalists strive to do that every day.”
Los Angeles Times journalists are gearing up for a potential strike after 80% of the newsroom pledged to vote yes on a strike authorization vote.
“We have been negotiating a new contract for almost three years,” Matt Hamilton, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and unit chair said. “Our members haven’t had a cost-of-living raise since 2021, despite record inflation and the rising cost of housing and other essentials. We have faced intimidation from management, which resulted in an unfair labor practice charge.”
Amid the constant rounds of layoffs journalists provided essential coverage of the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the ongoing ICE crackdown, the blizzard of policy changes from President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s campaign to push back. And a lot more.
“Having worked at The Times for more than a decade, I know the care that goes into what we publish each day,” Hamilton said. “I hear from colleagues who are tired, fed up, taking on second jobs, and struggling to see a future at The Times.”
When they schedule a vote, they’ll have a supermajority of members in support. They’re not taking the decision lightly. Management needs to wake up and reach a deal for a new agreement. I’m standing with my former newsroom to continue our mission we wrote in 2017: To safeguard the future of the Los Angeles Times and its journalists.
A new Labor Notes feature highlights how rank-and-file militancy is driving The NewsGuild’s record growth. Since 2020, the Guild has organized 210 workplaces and more than 8,500 workers—the fastest growth of any CWA sector. Member-to-member organizing is at the heart of that success: workers who’ve won their own drives are helping others organize, bargain and strike. Read more here.
From standing ovations to spirited floor debates, the 2025 NewsGuild-CWA Sector Conference brought together 84 delegates from 24 locals to chart the path ahead for our union.
The day opened with Sector Chair Diane Mastrull saluting the Pittsburgh strikers who were still holding the line after 1,026 days. Mastrull was followed by remarks from Pittsburgh Local President Zack Tanner and CWA District 2-13 Vice President Mike Davis. The room was on its feet early, and the energy never let up.
SAN FRANCISCO – Employees at Mission Local, the largest nonprofit newsroom solely covering San Francisco, announced today the creation of the first union at the organization, as a part of the Pacific Media Workers Guild Local 39521 The NewsGuild – Communications Workers of America.
The NewsGuild-CWA and National Writers Union join press freedom and human rights advocates around the world in condemning the killing of Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal in a targeted attack in Gaza City.
WASHINGTON – Journalists at The Hill, represented by the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, have voted 46-1 to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement with Nexstar Media Group, Inc., securing increases in pay, vacation time and family leave.
CHICAGO, IL — Today, the staff employees of Cook County College Teachers Union (CCCTU) proudly announce that they are forming a union and seeking to be a part of the Chicago NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 34071. The dedicated team supports more than 4,000 faculty members across Cook County’s public community colleges.
More than 290 journalists across the nationwide Hearst Newspapers chain are calling on their bosses to honor existing union contracts and bargain in good faith over new ones.
“We write on behalf of all unionized Hearst Newspapers journalists — from Albany, Austin, Connecticut, Dallas and San Francisco — requesting that you treat us with the respect and dignity we deserve,” the journalists wrote in a letter to management across the company.
The letter outlines specific asks from employees in each of the five unionized Hearst newsrooms.
