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New York legislature passes historic journalism jobs tax credit

The New York Assembly and Senate on Saturday passed a first-of-its-kind journalism jobs tax credit in the 2025 budget. The credits will become law when New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs the state budget.

The job tax credits were first introduced as the Local Journalism Sustainability Act (S.625-Hoylman-Sigal/A.2958-Woerner). The final budget language provides $30 million in tax credits each year over three years, covering half of a journalist’s salary up to $50,000 each year. Publishers will only be able to use these employment tax credits to rebuild their newsrooms by hiring new reporters and retaining current staff.

The organizing effort for this initiative has been spearheaded by the Albany Newspaper Guild, New York News Publishers Association, the New York State AFL-CIO, The NewsGuild-CWA and the Communications Workers of America beginning in 2022.

Oxford University Press Illegally Lays Off Unit Chair, Scott Morales

April 16, 2024 – Today, Oxford University Press USA notified the OUP USA Guild unit chair, Scott Morales, that he was being laid off, effective immediately.

California’s Journalists Call on Google to Stop Silencing Journalism on Their Platform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2024

Contact: Rebekah Entralgo, rentralgo@cwa-union.org (202) 304-2241

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following Google’s action to temporarily block California-based news outlets’ content for some state residents in response to the proposed California Journalism Preservation Act, as reported in Politico on Friday April, 2024, Jon Schluess – President of The NewsGuild-CWA, Matt Pearce – President of Media Guild of the West TNG-CWA Local 39213, and Annie Sciacca – President of the Pacific Media Workers Guild TNG-CWA Local 39521 have released the following joint statement:

Supermajority of 1199SEIU UHWE Staff Petition to Unionize, Make Labor History at Nation’s Largest Union Local

Washington, DC — Today, a supermajority of eligible 1199SEIU “In House Staff” employees – from New York to Massachusetts to Florida – filed a Union petition with the National Labor Relations Board and demanded voluntary recognition to join WBNG Newsguild-CWA Local 32035.

“We are forming our Union because we deeply believe that all workers—including union staff—deserve dignity, respect, and a democratic voice on the job. We work every day to ensure thousands of healthcare workers from Massachusetts to Florida have a seat at the table and the power to uplift the communities in their care” reads worker organizers’ mission statement.

Journalists at Defense News and Military Times Form Union

Journalists at Defense News and Military Times announced they are unionizing and forming the Sightline Media Union. In response, the organizing committee has released the following statement:

How To Support Striking Journalists During the #TotalEclipseOfTheNews

Ahead of the solar eclipse on April 8, two Gannett newsrooms — the Austin American-Statesman and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle — are on strike, withholding their labor on a historic news day to draw attention to the company’s failure to bargain in good faith and respond to the union’s common sense proposals.

A striker holds up a sign "Rochester needs journalists" in front of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle building in New York.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer supports Rochester journalists on strike

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released the following statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Contact: Ryan Martin, 202-680-0427

SCHUMER STATEMENT ON THE ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE JOURNALISTS AS THEY SEEK A FAIR CONTRACT WITH GANNETT

New York, N.Y. – A long-time advocate for New York’s local news outlets, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today released the following statement urging Gannett to negotiate in good faith with the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle journalists and reach a fair deal on wages, benefits and working conditions to avoid a strike:

“Local journalism is the glue that keeps our communities together and nowhere is that more true than Rochester, where Gannett was first established nearly a century ago – with the Democrat & Chronicle as its flagship newspaper. I visit every one of New York’s 62 counties each year — many of which depend on Gannett newspapers as a critical source for local news. It breaks my heart to see the decline of these once robust newsrooms with reporters who are struggling to get by and newsrooms without enough reporters to cover many of the important local stories that are foundational to a well-informed citizenry and a healthy democracy. I urge Gannett to stay at the table and negotiate in good faith with the union to reach a fair deal on wages, benefits, working conditions, and investments to create the robust well-supported newsrooms our communities need. I stand in solidarity with the journalists at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle as they pursue the fair contract and benefits they deserve.”

Newsletter: #TotalEclipseOfTheNews

After nearly three years of bargaining for a first contract with Gannett, the award-winning journalists at the Austin American-Statesman are on strike! The Austin NewsGuild is on a four day unfair labor practice strike starting today, April 5, over the company’s failure to bargain in good faith and respond to the union’s common sense proposals. This is the 28th NewsGuild-CWA strike of 2024 so far.

Austin NewsGuild Journalists Stage ULP Strike

After nearly three years of bargaining for a first contract with Gannett, the award-winning journalists at the Austin American-Statesman are starting a four day unfair labor practice strike over the company’s bad faith bargaining.

The votes are in. It will be a total eclipse of the news starting Friday for @Statesman AustinNewsGuild members. Support our strike as we try to keep local news written by local people @gannett #saveourstatesman https://t.co/sjw3YOkPqX
— Austin NewsGuild (@AustinNewsGuild) April 4, 2024

The Austin journalists demand Gannett CEO Mike Reed and company leadership bargain in good faith and respond to the union’s common sense proposals.

It is time Gannett treat its employees with respect. The Austin NewsGuild deserves a fair contract.

Here’s how you can support the strikers:

Do not click on any Austin American-Statesman links from April 5-9.
Join the picket line on April 5 at 12 PM local time on the S. Congress bridge.
Donate to their strike fund.
Sign their petition.
Amplify their social media.

The four day ULP strike coincides with the solar eclipse, which will travel directly over central Texas on April 8. With the news that Gannett will drop the Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman readers will find no coverage of the eclipse on their website, underscoring the need for strong local journalism and exposing Gannett’s bad faith bargaining.

The strikers stand ready to meet with the company to reach a fair contract.