Blog

CWA S-T Steffens Lauds Award Winners, Warns of Threats to Journalism

There has never been a more important time to celebrate and lift up journalism. Lately I’ve been hearing a very chilling notion: that we are entering a “post-truth era.”

Why a post-truth era? We have a president who is prone to taking to Twitter to broadcast plain lies, such as his recent outrageous claim that states permitted millions of people to vote illegally. Continue reading “CWA S-T Steffens Lauds Award Winners, Warns of Threats to Journalism”

Bytes and Bits

Toledo Members Approve One-Year Contract at Toledo Blade

The Toledo Newspaper Guild members ratified a one-year contract with the Toledo Blade. The Blade is a division of Block Communications Incorporated.

The contract includes a bonus, a new compensation plan for advertising sales staff, more vacation time, an elimination of unpaid sick days, and a 401k match for employees for the first time. Continue reading “Bytes and Bits”

In Memorium

Marv Cermak, a columnist and Guild member for the Albany Times Union, died at the age of 84. Cermak left $50,000 to the local. In a story posted on the local’s web site, Tim O’Brien, the president of the Albany Newspaper Guild, said, “We are profoundly grateful that Marv chose to honor his long- standing appreciation of the Guild in this way.” Continue reading “In Memorium”

Union Member Rights in the Workplace

Your Right to Form a Union
The National Labor Relations Act guarantees your legal right to join or form a union without interference, restraint or coercion from your employer. The relevant sections of National Labor Relations Act are summarized as follows on the website of the National Labor Relations Board:

  • Employees have the right to unionize, to join together to advance their interests as employees, and to refrain from such activity. It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights. For example, employers may not respond to a union organizing drive by threatening, interrogating, or spying on pro-union employees, or by promising benefits if they forget about the union.

    • Continue reading “Union Member Rights in the Workplace”

How a Union Leads to a Better Workplace

Once the employer recognizes the employees will be members of The NewsGuild, there is a process to legally negotiate about work rules and standards.

Choosing a union allows employees to negotiate as a group to create a better workplace. Once the employer recognizes the employees will be members of The NewsGuild, there is a process to legally negotiate about work rules and standards, what is know as terms and conditions of employment. Even without a union, the law allows individual employees a right to negotiate their terms and conditions of employment. Continue reading “How a Union Leads to a Better Workplace”

How Organizing Works

If you are interested in organizing your workplace, The NewsGuild will help you build support among you and your coworkers. A Federal law gives employees the right to organize and the rights of employees are protected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). But, the interpretation and enforcement of the laws and rights are subject to politics and the courts.

Therefore, it is best to get in touch with us before speaking with coworkers about forming a union where you work. Experience has shown that to create a successful campaign, it is important that you and your coworkers take the lead in the organizing. Staff members at The NewsGuild will provide you with support and guidance throughout the process of forming your union. Continue reading “How Organizing Works”

Email Rights

Barbara Camens and Marissa Jacobson
TNG-CWA Legal Counsel

The same computer technology that helps make businesses more efficient is useful to unions, too-much to some employers’ dismay. So it should come as no surprise that as TNG-CWA locals and their members increasingly rely on company e-mail to communicate about workplace issues, those same employers are trying to prohibit such use, often by unilaterally imposing new computer-use policies. Many such efforts, however, are illegal and should be challenged by TNG locals. Continue reading “Email Rights”

Union Pride at Dow Jones as Bargaining Enters Third Month

With T-shirts, bulletin boards and lots of solidarity photos on social media, Guild members at the Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones properties have been doing their all to support the IAPE bargaining team. Talks began in June. Wages are a key sticking point, with the union seeking to offset increases in employees’ share of health care costs. IAPE is asking for a 3.5 percent raise in the first year and 4.5 percent in the following two years, while Dow Jones hasn’t budged above 2 percent.

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