Dec. 17, 2018 – Journalists of the Casper Star-Tribune voted 10 to 0 to approve a Collective Bargaining Agreement on Dec. 14, ratifying the first contract between workers and their employer in the paper’s 127-year history. Continue reading “Workers at Casper Star-Tribune Ratify First Contract”
By Martha Waggoner, Guild International Chair
It’s a big accomplishment to get a first contract, as four recently organized units within The NewsGuild-CWA have done.
But to get contract language that’s rare, if not unprecedented within TNG, well, that’s cause for even more of a reason for celebration.
The contracts for units at Gatehouse newspapers in Springfield and Rockford in Illinois, and at Lakeland and Sarasota in Florida, include language that protect the beats of female reporters when they return from maternity leave. The language says not only do the women return to work, but they also return to their same beats.
The language came from bargaining at Springfield, where the local’s bargaining team noticed that some women were assigned less prestigious beats when they returned from maternity leave. One reporter had burst into tears in the newsroom when she learned she was pregnant because she had seen a colleague lose her beat after her pregnancy.
Continue reading “4 new TNG contracts include rare maternity leave language”
Originally Lee Enterprises had threatened to shutter the paper if the employees organized a union. See this videos from KPAX, a major broadcaster in Western Montana, and a video from freelancer Dan Brooks at the link below, or attached to this brief. Continue reading “Lee threatens to close Missoula Independent if the union doesn’t agree to shed 3/4’s of the staff”
Aug. 23, 2018 – Excellent piece from The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) on gender pay disparities in newsrooms. Put together by several members of AAJA it primarily focuses on our union efforts in seven of our large locals. It appears that this fight for equal pay just won’t go away. These efforts should inspire every union local to request pay data and either analyze it themselves, or get help through The NewsGuild-CWA. There is also some information on non-union environments. Remember too that every journalists is welcome to join one of the journalist associations. They are all actively pursuing anti-discrimination efforts.
May 23, 2018 – Gannett and the Indianapolis Star are holding journalists’ pay raises hostage in an effort to coerce them into signing a contract “that sticks our members with a terrible deal and higher health cases costs,” the Indianapolis NewsGuild is charging. Continue reading “Indy Guild: Gannett, IndyStar Are Holding Pay Raises Hostage”
May 7, 2018 – An overwhelming majority of the 63 unionized workers in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newsroom voted on April 25 to ratify a five-year contract with owner Oahu Publications Inc, the Pacific Media Workers Guild reported on May 4. The PMWG is The NewsGuild-CWA local that represents the employees. Continue reading “Honolulu Star-Advertiser Workers Ratify Contract”
May 3, 2018 – NewsGuild members at the Knoxville News Sentinel gave a stark reminder of the effects of layoffs at the Gannett-owned paper in late April, floating a black balloon at the desk of every worker who has been let go over the course of the current contract. The workers are building solidarity as they face tough negotiations with management over a new collective bargaining agreement. Continue reading “Knoxville Fights Back”
April 23, 2018 – Melissa Nelson will retire on April 27, capping a 35-year career of NewsGuild activism, including 11 on the staff of the national union. Continue reading “Melissa Nelson Says Farewell”
April 17, 2018 – The Puerto Rico local (UPAGRA) of The NewsGuild-CWA recently won an important legal victory with implications for locals dealing with the fallout of bankruptcies. As a result of the ruling, the workers retained their right to union representation. Continue reading “Puerto Rico Local Wins Important Legal Victory in Bankruptcy Case”
April 6, 2018 – After nine months of negotiations, 11 Guild members at People’s World voted unanimously to ratify the first union contract in the publication’s 94-year history. They are members of Chicago NewsGuild-CWA, Local 34071. Continue reading “People’s World Workers Approve First Contract”
