Blog
Canadian Media Guild (CMG) members at TVO have spoken, providing a strong strike mandate to their bargaining team: 95.8% of members have rejected their employer’s latest offer and indicated they are ready to strike if necessary. This is a strong mandate. It does not mean we are currently on strike, nor have we set a date to walk out. We are still hoping to negotiate an agreement and avoid a strike. But our message to TVO and the Ford government is clear:
Continue reading “CMG members overwhelmingly reject TVO’s latest offer and are ready to strike”Journalists and media workers have unionized in the United States at a record pace. At the same time news companies have cut jobs, putting the country’s democracy at risk.
The NewsGuild-CWA, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), seeks a campaign lead to channel the energy of our members, community supporters and policy stakeholders into winning legislative initiatives that support the follow demands:
Common Good Demands
The position is initially slated to last a year but is subject to possible extension.
The ideal candidate will have experience running multiple organizing campaigns with professional workers. They will have the organizational and strategic skills necessary to inspire and activate workers to take action.
The position will report to The NewsGuild-CWA leadership and the CWA Organizing Director, coordinating regularly with senior campaign leads. The position can be based anywhere. It is currently remote but will involve regular travel once it is safe to do so.
Job Qualifications:
Responsibilities when employed in an Organizing campaign:
Compensation: $73,617.07-$93,413.08/year depending on experience with an excellent benefits package.
The NewsGuild-CWA is an equal-opportunity employer and encourages applications from candidates who would expand the diversity of the Guild staff.
Contact:
Anna Reed / anna.e.reed@gmail.com / (402) 212-5901
Sandra Tan / santan716@gmail.com / (716) 390-7233
The Unions of Lee Enterprises, which represents unionized Lee newspapers across the country, is devoting this week to raising awareness at the local and national level about harmful strategies being taken by our parent media company. #LeeUnionsRaisingAwareness
Last week and this week, all but the largest-circulating newspapers in the Lee Enterprises newspaper chain began cutting print circulation to three days a week, with all print papers being delivered via U.S. mail. Meanwhile, Lee papers large and small continue to be subject to deep cuts to newsroom staffing and the outsourcing of local work to out-of-state and foreign hubs.
The coalition is issued a statement, coordinating local public awareness campaigns and making its union leaders across the country available for interviews.
###
The Unions of Lee Enterprises represents all unionized NewsGuild members at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; The Buffalo News; the Omaha World-Herald; the Richmond Times-Dispatch; the Roanoke Times; the Billings Gazette; the Casper Star-Tribune; the Sioux City Journal; the Charlottesville Daily Progress; the Kenosha News; The Daily News in Longview, Wash.; and the Southern Illinoisan. Follow the Unions of Lee Enterprises on Twitter @LeeUnions.
Lee Enterprises is a media chain based in Davenport, Iowa. It owns daily newspapers, as well as nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications in 26 states, according to its website.
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”122-0.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
In a historic vote, members of the Dallas News Guild who work at The Dallas Morning News approved a new 3-year contract.
It took almost 900 days of bargaining with Dallas Morning News executives. The negotiating sessions concluded several weeks ago, after a long day of mediation. Both sides finally came together.
Continue reading “Journalists at Dallas Morning News ratify first contract”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:
“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.
Happy Friday, family!
Late yesterday, I popped into the unit leadership call with Insider Union members discussing the White House’s link to an Insider story in a recent email. Last Friday our family at Insider went on an unfair labor practice strike. Crossing a picket line is not OK and the White House quickly apologized and issued the following statement exclusively to our recently-launched strike publication Business Outsider.
“Across the country, we’ve seen a historic wave of newsrooms demanding fair pay and benefits. This week alone, journalists at Gannett, Insider, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remain on strike,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “All workers deserve a voice in the workplace, and journalists are no different.”
Continue reading “White House stands with our striking members”On Thursday, more than 370 workers in the Los Angeles Times newsroom sent a letter to management calling out the company’s attempt to lay off 74 workers, including 57 Guild-covered workers on the copy desk, web desk, photo desk, production desks and elsewhere. Leaders from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the Latino Journalists of California CCNMA quickly jumped in and called out Times’ management.
Your handling of this proposed layoff sends a clear message to the newsroom: You don’t care about the contract, and you don’t care about us.
We’re willing to do whatever it takes to win the contract that this newsroom deserves. You should be too. Starting now, we need to see a senior newsroom leader at every bargaining session — not just observing, but participating. Show us that you want to make progress. Show us that you care.
L.A. Times Guild letter to management
Journalists, part of the Media Guild of the West TNG-CWA Local 39213, were in negotiations with management over the attempted layoffs Thursday. Several leaders pointed out that the layoffs predominantly targeted journalists of color.
Continue reading “NAHJ, SPJ, AAJA, CCNMA join L.A. Times Guild in decrying management’s attempt lay off workers, including many journalists of color”Late Thursday the White House offered support for NewsGuild-CWA members who have been on unfair labor strikes across the United States in recent days. Hundreds of workers have been on strike at different outlets including Insider, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and two dozen Gannett newsrooms.
In a statement provided exclusively to the Insider Union’s strike publication Business Outsider, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre threw the administration’s support behind recent newsroom unfair labor practice strikes breaking out in local newsrooms and digital outlets.
Continue reading “White House stands with striking Guild members at Insider, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Gannett”Hundreds of Guild members from more than two dozen newsrooms went on strike across the U.S. in the past week, joining the strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who have been on strike for nine months.
Workers from the newsroom and production side have been striking against the Block family over the company’s cancellation of health insurance and its illegal imposition of terms. They’re running a strike publication and continuing to hold the line and make sure that the company follows federal law.
About 300 journalists went on an open-ended strike on Friday, June 2 over an unfair labor practice where the company illegally changed health insurance without bargaining (sound familiar?). The workers are pushing for decent health care coverage, a livable minimum wage and protections from artificial intelligence eroding their jobs.
Hundreds of workers from about two dozen Gannett publications went on a one-, two- or five-day strike in Gannett over the company’s unfair labor practices. Workers pushed for a no-confidence vote and the Guild called on shareholders to withhold their votes for CEO Mike Reed this week. Under Reed’s stewardship of the company following the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett Media in November 2019, newsrooms have been hollowed out, local news coverage has dwindled, and Gannett share prices have fallen nearly 70% – far more than peers in the industry like the New York Times and Lee Enterprises. Shares tumbled more than 10% after the walkout. Several newsrooms set up fundraisers to help cover the lost wages during the strike.