Category: Featured

More than 200 Tribune Publishing journalists, designers, and production workers at seven newsrooms across the country walked off the job as part of a historic 24-hour strike to protest the company’s refusal to pay journalists, designers and editors a fair wage and management’s threat to take away the 401k match benefit.

Workers from the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Virginian-Pilot, Morning Call, Suburban Chicago Tribune, Design and Production Studios, and Tribune Content Agency participated in the walkout — the single largest coordinated action journalists at the company have taken against Alden Global Capital since the hedge fund purchased Tribune Publishing in 2021.

Continue reading “Photos from Tribune Publishing walkout”

Journalists at The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how powerful institutions use technology to change our society, ratified their first collective bargaining agreement. Workers first unionized and won voluntary recognition in October 2020.

Workers locked in a $65,000 salary floor, guaranteed annual raises of at least 3.5% for the lowest paid employees and codified their 401(k) match and other benefits they had at the time of unionizing.

“We pushed really hard for a fair contract and safe benefits and we’re extremely excited to have it,” said Malena Carollo, an investigative reporter at The Markup.

“It means a lot to have job security in this type of environment,” she said in referencing the hundreds of journalists who have been laid off by media companies in January. The threat of layoffs at either profitable or billionaire-owned organizations have led many journalists to strike at publications like the Los Angeles Times and Condé Nast recently.

They also secured an impressive six months of 100% paid parental leave.

“It means people are able to take the time they actually need after they have or adopt a baby,” Carollo said.

The contract also includes $15,000 support for a diversity, equity and inclusion committee and new hiring pool goal minimums for candidates of historically underrepresented groups. Workers also secured book writing rights and the power to share in any production rights if their stories are turned into films or podcasts.

More than 200 unionized journalists at seven newsrooms launch a one-day strike to demand fair wages, protection of 401k match

Biggest collective action against Alden Global Capital since 2021 purchase of Tribune Publishing

Alden has slow walked contract negotiations; bargaining for most units is in its fifth year

NATIONAL – More than 200 Tribune Publishing journalists, designers, and production workers at seven newsrooms across the country walked off the job for 24 hours today in a historic strike to protest the company’s refusal to pay journalists, designers and editors a fair age and management’s threat to take away the 401k match benefit. Tribune Publishing journalists at all the newsrooms are represented by The NewsGuild-CWA.

Continue reading “Tribune Publishing journalists go on 24-hour strike”

NEW YORK – Journalists at New York’s Hometown Newspaper, the Daily News, walked out Thursday — the first walkout since the end of their historic strike in 1991 — fed up with chronic cuts ordered by the paper’s owner, the ‘destroyer of newspapers’ Alden Global Capital. 

“Alden wants to act as if we are not being chiseled,” said union steward Michael Gartland, an award-winning reporter who’s covered three NYC mayors. “We’re not going to engage in that intellectual dishonesty. In reality, we’re being crushed for cash. As a result, staff is diminished, which means our ability to cover the city is diminished. We believe this is bad for New York.”

Continue reading “New York Daily News journalists walk off the job in one-day protest over hedge fund owners’ slashing of resources”

NEW YORK – Unionized editorial staff at Forbes are walking off the job through Monday in protest of the business magazine’s attempts to prevent union members from exercising their rights as well as slow-walking contract negotiations. 

This the first walkout for the Forbes Union, and the first known work stoppage in the magazine’s 106-year history. It occurs during the production of its February/March print issue. 

Continue reading “Forbes workers go on three-day strike”

After more than 3 years of bargaining, the Indianapolis News Guild reached a two-year collective bargaining agreement with Gannett.

The agreement invests $200,000 in giving members long-deserved raises and updating the woefully outdated wage scale. This was a priority among the 39 members, whose input also guided the decision-making in non-economic areas.

The contract includes a new seniority-based wage scale, plus across-the-board pay increases in both years of the contract, which will benefit every member and help with pay equity in the newsroom.

Continue reading “Indy Guild ratifies new contract, with better pay and job protections against AI”

At 11:30 a.m. Central Time Wednesday staffers at the San Antonio Report walked off the job after hearing that their colleague Sandra Santos was laid off by the nonprofit newsroom in Texas.

“This is exactly the type of thing we organized to prevent so we could find solutions for the organization and the members,” said Isaac Windes, an education reporter at the San Antonio Report.

Continue reading “Workers at San Antonio Report walk off the job in protest of illegal layoff”

AUSTIN — Employees of the award-winning nonprofit newsroom The Texas Tribune announced their intent to unionize on Wednesday as the Texas Tribune Guild, part of the Media Guild of the West and The NewsGuild-CWA.

Organizers petitioned for voluntary recognition from the CEO, editor-in-chief and the board of The Texas Tribune.

Members of the union organizing committee presented management with the request for voluntary recognition after 90% of eligible staffers signed union authorization cards signaling their desire to be represented by the Texas Tribune Guild.

Continue reading “Texas Tribune employees announce union organizing campaign”

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday the POLITICO and E&E News (PEN) Guild reached a tentative agreement for its first-ever collective bargaining agreement after 20 months of negotiations. 

Covering three years, the tentative contract includes numerous improvements for the company’s journalists, including higher pay that helps close inequities in the newsroom, stronger benefits and layoff protections — including enhanced protections against adoption of artificial intelligence, some of the industry’s first contract language regarding the use of AI.

“We formed this union because our colleagues were overworked, underpaid and lacked basic protections,” said Unit Chair Tanya Snyder, a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro. “This contract will benefit our journalists and lead to a healthier, stronger newsroom.” 

Members of PEN Guild, which represents over 270 journalists, must still ratify the contract.

Wage inequity was a top issue for many in PEN Guild. The union’s study of newsroom salaries found wage gaps for journalists of color and women and non-binary employees. The contract will take significant steps toward closing those gaps. 

Other achievements in the contract include 5 percent caps on insurance premium increases and coverage of IVF and fertility treatments; 24 weeks of paid parental leave; faster vesting of 401(k) matches; automatic transit stipends; a strong policy regarding the treatment of trans and non-binary employees; and just cause protections for the disciplinary process.

POLITICO journalists unionized in October 2021 with over 80 percent support of the newsroom and were formally recognized by the company shortly thereafter.

PEN Guild is part of the Washington-Baltimore Chapter of NewsGuild-CWA.

Contact PEN Guild at politicoeenewsguild@gmail.com. 

PEN Guild's tentative agreement with @politico means better pay, health care, vacation and comp time, parental leave, benefits, layoff and AI protections, and so much more.

tl;dr: A healthier newsroom.

Read our press release: https://t.co/qVPk10WHRN pic.twitter.com/bhtZ7GR4Tu

— penguild (@penguild) January 23, 2024

Outraged over the unlawful handling of layoff negotiations and bad-faith bargaining, unionized staff at many of the top Condé Nast brands have walked off the job for one day and will picket outside One World Trade Center in New York City today.

SUPPORT THE WORKERS – Join the digital picket line and do not engage with Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, GQ, Self, Teen Vogue, Them, Vanity Fair, or Vogue content on January 23, 2024.

TAKE ACTION – Tell CEO Roger Lynch that enough is enough by sending a letter with a clear message: bargain in good faith and stop the layoffs!

HARDSHIP FUND – If Condé decides to dock our pay for the day of the walkout, we want to make sure union members who would experience financial hardship from the loss are covered. Please donate to the walkout fund!

SPREAD THE WORD – Follow and repost to support workers on Instagram and Twitter!

Continue reading “Condé Nast workers at a dozen publications walk out”