Featured | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA

NewsGuild seeks FCC delay on acquisition of TEGNA, calls on TEGNA board to postpone vote on proposed deal

Update: On May 20, the FCC granted the Guild’s request to delay the deadline for opposing a mega merger of news companies. This rarely happens, yet the FCC gave us another month to oppose the proposed takeover of TEGNA by two hedge funds. A merger would raise consumer prices and cut local news jobs. We cannot continue to lose local news jobs, which are already down 28% from 2008.

The NewsGuild asked the FCC on May 12 to delay action on the proposed acquisition of TEGNA by two hedge funds.

Guild President Jon Schleuss also called on TEGNA’s Board of Directors to postpone consideration of the deal, which is currently set for May 17.

Congrats, Pulitzer winners and finalists!

On behalf of more than 26,000 members of The NewsGuild-CWA, we extend heartfelt congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Awards. We’re especially proud of NewsGuild members who were honored for their outstanding journalism, listed below.

TIME workers threaten to strike on release of TIME 100

Workers have signed a pledge to walkout on the launch of the magazine’s iconic TIME100 franchise if a fair contract is not agreed to by then.

The TIME Union announced plans for a one-day strike as their bargaining committee headed back into negotiations on Monday. Members have signed a letter to management announcing their plan to walkout on May 23, when the magazine releases its highly-anticipated annual TIME100, if a contract agreement is not reached by then.

Protesters rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on May 4, 2022.

NewsGuild: Abortion access is a health care right

Politico reported on May 2 that the Supreme Court of the United States has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, citing a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated inside the court. The court confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion the following day.

The NewsGuild-CWA unequivocally supports access to abortion as a health care right and as a matter of personal choice.

BuzzFeed News Union members ratify first contract

Members of the BuzzFeed News Union voted unanimously on Friday to ratify their first contract.

“Several members of the union bargaining committee started at BuzzFeed making less than $40,000 a year,” they said in a press statement. “Today, we ratified a contract that sets a salary floor for union jobs at $60,000.”

Journalists at Bangor Daily News are unionizing

May 11, 2022 – Update: It’s official! Management of the Bangor Daily News has formally recognized the Bangor Daily News Union.

May 6, 2022 – Update: The Bangor Daily News “has indicated it will voluntarily recognize our union,” union members tweeted on Friday. “We know this is so because we effectively organized our co-workers and demonstrated strong solidarity,” they said.

May 4, 2022 – Newsroom staffers of the Bangor Daily News and Bangor Publishing announced Wednesday that they are unionizing with The News Guild of Maine, Local 31128.

“We choose to work here because we value an independent press, and because we are committed to reporting the truth about local governments, schools and institutions, and to telling the stories of Mainers,” they said in a press statement.

Condé Union: ‘The Met Gala’s sparkle comes from our sweat’

NEW YORK – Ahead of the 2022 Met Gala tonight, the Condé Nast Union released the following statement on behalf of the union’s Organizing Committee. In late March, workers first announced the formation of the union, which includes full-and part-time editorial, video, and production workers at Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Epicurious, Glamour, GQ, Self, Teen Vogue, them., Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Condé Nast Entertainment.

Journalism groups ask Pulitzers to require transparency on diversity

Update: April 29, 2022
Our request to the Pulitzer Prizes is really gaining traction! One week ago, more than 50 journalism organizations joined us in asking the Pulitzers to make reporting on newsroom diversity a requirement for award eligibility. More than 160 journalism groups are now supporting the effort.

We have asked that the Pulitzer Prizes plan to announce its intent on or before unveiling the 2022 awards on May 9, 2022. We pointed out that our appeal gives the Pulitzers more than a year to figure out the details of implementation and offered our support to help make this commitment a reality.

(Originally published April 22, 2022) This morning the Guild and more than 50 groups representing journalists across the U.S. called on the Pulitzer Prizes to make participation in an annual diversity survey a condition of eligibility for awards.

Last week Harvard’s Nieman Lab reported that just 303 of 2,500 print and online news organizations responded to a News Leaders Association survey, which has been collecting demographic data for more than 40 years. (The American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors joined forces to form the News Leaders Association in 2019.)

NLRB issues long-awaited complaint against Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The National Labor Relations Board’s Pittsburgh office has issued a long-awaited complaint against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its parent company, Block Communications, Inc., for bad-faith bargaining and other improper conduct in its contract talks with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh.

Workers at the Reader win; publication freed to become a nonprofit

Workers and readers of the Reader, Chicago’s “free and freaky” alt-weekly, won a decisive victory Tuesday, when co-owner Len Goodman announced he was stepping down, clearing the way for the paper to transition to a nonprofit organization.