Staffers at Planned Parenthood PA Advocates knew a thing or two about organizing before they formed a union. Now they’re taking the next step.

Update: PPPA Union announced April 14, 2021, that the group has won voluntary recognition from the board of the nonprofit organization. They will be a unit of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia.

When the staffers at Planned Parenthood PA Advocates announced March 23 they were forming a union, they already knew a thing or two about organizing: In December 2020 they forced the executive director of the organization to resign after charging her with being “fiscally irresponsible” and saying she used “racist, transphobic, classist language, and language which perpetuates stigma against abortion.”

Continue reading “Staffers at Planned Parenthood PA Advocates knew a thing or two about organizing before they formed a union. Now they’re taking the next step.”

After years of stalled contract talks, workers at The New Yorker, Pitchfork and Ars Technica vote to authorize a strike

After two and a half years of unproductive contract talks, NewsGuild members at The New Yorker, Pitchfork, and Ars Technica announced Friday that they have voted — with 98 percent support — to approve a strike if negotiations with management of their publications and their parent company, Condé Nast, break down further.

Continue reading “After years of stalled contract talks, workers at The New Yorker, Pitchfork and Ars Technica vote to authorize a strike”

Alden is undermining a Baltimore philanthropist’s higher bid for Tribune Publishing

Tribune CEO Terry Jimenez was lone voice voting against Alden takeover

This article first appeared on the website of DFMworkers.org.

Alden Global Capital is aggressively undermining an effort by a Maryland hotel magnate to buy Tribune Publishing and possibly make its papers nonprofit charities, a new government filing reveals.

Continue reading “Alden is undermining a Baltimore philanthropist’s higher bid for Tribune Publishing”

Guild retains consultant in harassment probe

Recently we at the international NewsGuild-CWA retained an independent consultant to start a review with our membership at the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh to improve our culture and policies and make sure our union is safe for every member. 

In the coming weeks the consultant will speak with current and former members of the Pittsburgh local union and identify areas of improvement based on members’ feedback. We’ve been coordinating with members of the Human Rights Committee at the local for several months and I’m excited to see this new phase of work get started. 

Continue reading “Guild retains consultant in harassment probe”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Toledo Blade workers: We won’t back down!

NewsGuild members at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Toledo Blade held solidarity rallies on Friday to deliver a message to their common owner, Block Communications, Inc: We’re taking a stand against your attempts to bust our unions, eliminate editorial independence, and destroy the two publications.

Continue reading “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Toledo Blade workers: We won’t back down!”

Connecticut legislature hears testimony on the value of the Hartford Courant

A committee of the Connecticut state legislature heard compelling testimony Thursday about the value of The Hartford Courant to the local community and the threat that Alden Global Capital poses to it.

Continue reading “Connecticut legislature hears testimony on the value of the Hartford Courant”

Congress addresses the local news crisis

In a hearing on saving “the free and diverse press,” NewsGuild president urges lawmakers to protect local news and jobs

Summing up the nation’s local news crisis as a combination of unfair siphoning of advertising revenue by online platforms and “predatory financial actors” who strip newsrooms of jobs and resources, NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss testified Friday at a congressional hearing to address the nation’s local news crisis.

Continue reading “Congress addresses the local news crisis”