Featured | The NewsGuild - CWA

Media unions ask Biden for support for journalists fleeing Afghanistan

The NewsGuild-CWA and four other unions representing journalists and media workers urged President Joe Biden to support journalists who are desperately trying to flee Afghanistan on Aug. 23. The text of the letter is below.

Dear President Biden,

Our unions represent thousands of journalists in the United States and many who are currently working for U.S.-based employers overseas. We have watched the rapid deterioration of the situation inside Afghanistan with great concern for everyone involved.

Journalists at Washingtonian vote union!

Journalists at Washingtonian magazine voted 15 to 2 to form the Washingtonian Guild on Aug. 19 in balloting that was supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. They will become part of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035. The unit includes editors, writers and creatives.

Workers at Asbury Park Press, Home News Tribune, Courier News are Unionizing

The APP-MCJ Guild is the fourth Gannett group to organize with the NewsGuild of New York this year.

Journalists at the Asbury Park Press, Home News Tribune and Courier News announced Aug. 19 that they are unionizing. With more than 70% of eligible staffers signed on, the APP-MCJ Guild has requested voluntary recognition from Gannett management, which own the publications. They will become part of The NewsGuild of New York Local 31003.

Pay study of New York Magazine reveals ‘glaring inequities,’ union finds

Unionized journalists at New York Magazine released a pay study on Aug. 12 that found “glaring inequities.”

Digital Producers at the Atlantic Digital Optimization Team Win Union Vote

Digital Producers at the Atlantic Digital Optimization Team voted to be represented by The NewsGuild of New York Local 31003 in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board that concluded Wednesday. The 21-person unit consists of digital producers across five states that make up Gannett’s Atlantic region.

NYT Guild Tech Walkout: Let them vote!

After months of unlawful union-busting tactics by management of the New York Times, members of NYT Guild Tech staged a virtual walkout on Wednesday. Workers said they were protesting management’s continued unfair labor practices that seek to divide their union and prevent hundreds of workers from voting in an upcoming National Labor Relations Board vote on union representation.

Democracy Workers Collective wins union recognition

Staffers at the civic tech nonprofit Democracy Works won voluntary recognition of their union, the Democracy Workers Collective, Aug. 10, 28 days after announcing their union drive. They join News Media Guild Local 31222.

NewsGuild, ACLU, NABJ Urge Department of Justice to Adopt Permanent Protections for Journalists

The NewsGuild-CWA has joined with the ACLU and National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) to call on the Department of Justice to adopt permanent protections for journalists and other observers covering protests.

The DOJ should enshrine a prohibition against arresting, threatening to arrest, or using force against journalists and legal observers in the department’s law enforcement guidelines unless there is probable cause to believe the journalists or observers committed a crime, the organizations said in an Aug. 6 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

NewsGuild mourns the death of Richard Trumka

The NewsGuild-CWA joins workers across the U.S. and around the world in mourning the death of Richard L. Trumka.

Rich dedicated his life to fighting for the rights and dignity of workers, from his earliest days in the minefields of Pennsylvania until his death as president of the AFL-CIO.

High Participation Public Actions Get the Goods

Editor’s Note: This article was first posted on Aug. 3, 2021, on the website of The NewsGuild of New York.

A transformation is underway in our union. We are moving away from the business-as-usual servicing model that has come to dominate the labor movement over the past 70 years, much to the benefit of employers, and toward the organizing model that gives workers real power in the workplace.

These two approaches stem from different conceptions about where our power lies. The service model views the union as a vending machine, where someone puts their dues in and expects to get a grievance or contract out. But the organizing model is rooted in the understanding that our real power comes through unity and collective action. If we want to settle big grievances or win a strong contract, then we have to be willing to fight together to win it.