Featured | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA

Alden’s sleight-of-hand bid demands a closer look

Editor’s note: This article first appeared on the website of DFMworkers.org on Nov. 23, 2021.

The executives at Florida-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital must be restless.

No longer content with extracting the lifeblood from two of the nation’s largest local newspaper chains, it’s now stalking Lee Enterprises.

Alden announced, via a Monday-morning press release, that it wants to buy all of Lee Enterprises for $24 a share, in cash.

NewsGuild denounces Alden’s continued bid to destroy local news

The union is calling on Lee’s board to reject Alden’s takeover bid.

The NewsGuild-CWA denounces the purchase offer made yesterday by Alden Global Capital for Lee Enterprises. If advanced, the deal would give Alden control of three of the four largest chains of newspapers in the United States. Such industry concentration would have a negative impact on consumers who depend on local news, employees who work for Lee papers and on our democracy.

NLRB: Return-to-Office Plans are a Mandatory Subject of Bargaining

While dismissing a charge by the NY Guild, the agency gave workers a big win.

The National Labor Relations Board dismissed an Unfair Labor Practice charge by the NewsGuild of New York on Wednesday but upheld the union’s most important claim: Management has an obligation to bargain with the union over return-to-office plans and vaccine mandates.

NewsGuild applauds House support for local news jobs

Earlier this morning the U.S. House passed the “Build Back Better” reconciliation plan, which included the key provision we’ve supported in the Local Journalism Sustainability Act: saving local news journalists.

New York Times workers protest at the company’s doorstep

Members of three New York Times bargaining units joined forces on Tuesday to deliver a message to management: Stop union busting. Respect our union.

Staffers at Warehouse Workers for Justice are forming a union

Update: Warehouse Workers for Justice Union won voluntary recognition from management of the organization on Jan. 14, 2022.

Staffers at Warehouse Workers for Justice announced Friday that they are forming a union as part of the Chicago Local 34071 of The NewsGuild-CWA.

Full-time faculty at Point Park University ratifies new contract

In a unanimous 72-0 vote, full-time faculty at Point Park University ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on Nov. 10. They are part of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh Local 38061.

Key provisions of the three-year agreement include annual salary increases of 3.5%-4.25% percent; increases in the minimum salaries for all full-time faculty positions, with lecturers’ minimum salaries increasing by 12-15% this academic year, and four weeks of parental leave with 100% pay, with parents who give birth continuing to be eligible for short-term disability beyond four weeks if they are unable to work. Pay increases will be retroactive to the start of the fall semester.

Politico, E&E staffers win union recognition

The staffers of POLITICO and E&E News won voluntary recognition of their union, PEN Guild, on Tuesday, 10 days after they announced they were unionizing. They praised “the good faith negotiations” that led to the agreement and said they “look forward to continuing that spirit in contract talks.”

Union members at NY Times’ Wirecutter announce walkout during Black Friday week

Staffers at Wirecutter, the product-review company owned by the New York Times, announced plans to walkout during Black Friday week, the site’s busiest week of the year. They are protesting management’s refusal to bargain in good faith with members of the Wirecutter Union, including failing to provide information necessary to negotiate over wages. The issues at stake include in negotiations include higher pay minimums, annual guaranteed raises, caps on increases to healthcare costs, and banning non-disclosure agreements for cases of harassment and discrimination.

Nine NewsGuild locals honored for outstanding organizing

Nine NewsGuild locals were among those honored at a special CWA ceremony for outstanding organizing on Thursday evening. Each local organized 100 or more new union members since the CWA’s last convention in July 2019.