By Bernie Lunzer
Last month, while sitting in on a local bargaining session, I asked management’s chief negotiator what the publisher’s plans were for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The employer’s rep was stumped. He had no idea.
But he knew he had to extract millions of dollars from the employees. Continue reading “Why Aren’t Publishers Investing in the Future? Don’t They See One?”
July 12, 2017 – The battle for fair contracts at GateHouse Media newspapers has intensified in recent months. Workers at the 16 Guild-represented publications engaged in joint actions, developed a coordinated campaign to take on GateHouse and its parent company, and scored a stunning victory at a meeting of shareholders.
Continue reading “GateHouse Workers Launch Coordinated Strategy”
Officials at the Department of Justice probably didn’t realize they were about to wreak havoc on federal immigration courts when they signed an exclusive contract for interpreting services with a new company in 2015.
And they certainly didn’t realize that signing the new agency — SOS International — would provide the impetus for a spirited union organizing campaign Continue reading “DoJ Contractor Wreaks Havoc on Immigration Courts; Spurs Guild Organizing Drive”
Why isn’t there a retirement plan my local can negotiate that doesn’t require me to sock away too much of my pay, leave me subject to wild swings in the markets, and that guarantees me a monthly income for life? And why can’t the plan be just as attractive to my company with fixed costs like my 401(k) plan?
Now there is. Continue reading “A Retirement Plan That Provides Security, Stability, Lifetime Benefit? TNG-CWA APP”
July 12, 2017 – A year after it discovered significant pay disparities at the Wall Street Journal, Local 1096 has taken a closer look at the company’s pay practices — and still doesn’t like what it sees. The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees (IAPE) found a gap between the rates of pay for men and women dating back to the year 2000, as well as between races and ethnicities. Continue reading “Guild to WSJ: Yes, There is a Wage Gap”
Now entering a third year without a contract, Thomson Reuters NewsGuild members have been mobilizing their co-workers and organizing job actions to demand that management come to the table and negotiate a contract that recognizes the contributions of the award-winning staff.
They have a very direct message: We’re worth more! Continue reading “Reuters Members to Management: We’re Worth More”
Managers at the Boston Herald got an unwelcome surprise after they suspended reporter Chris Villani — allegedly for violating the company’s social media policy. The 2013 policy, which requires reporters to get approval from the Executive Editor or his designee prior to tweeting breaking news, had never been enforced before. Continue reading “Boston Members Boycott Twitter”
Just a week after the East Bay News staff was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “relentless” coverage of the deadly Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, Digital First Media, owner of the Bay Area News Group, announced plans to move copy desk work to Southern California, triggering 20 more layoffs from a shrunken roster of 92 Guild-represented employees in the East Bay.
The first digital media company to be unionized in Canada ratified a contract on March 31 giving major gains in salaries and benefits, stronger equity provisions, and measures to protect editorial independence. Continue reading “First Contract at VICE Canada Yields Major Wins”
Nearly 1,500 NewsGuild members in 28 bargaining units joined together on World Press Freedom Day to focus attention on an often-overlooked threat — the damage done to newspapers by profiteering hedge fund owners. Continue reading “DFM, GateHouse Workers Target a Different Threat to Press Freedom — Asset-Stripping Hedge Fund Owners”
