Sept. 14, 2018 – Calling themselves the Tidewater Media Guild, over 100 newsroom employees at Tronc-owned publications The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review in Virginia have won voluntary recognition. Together these publications account for the dominant media market in the southeastern Virginia region. Continue reading “Virginia journalists gain voluntary recognition from Tronc and join The NewsGuild-CWA”
CWA Canada members face prospect of lockout, strike
More than 120 members of CWA Canada face the prospect of a lockout and a strike if they don’t accept a Postmedia demand for massive givebacks coming at the same time as the company CEO has received a huge salary increase.
Members of the Ottawa Newspaper Guild began voting Sunday under the threat of lockout Thursday if they don’t accept the so-called deal. Meanwhile, members of the Montreal Guild say they will strike in support of the brothers and sisters if Ottawa is locked out.
Montreal, which Postmedia also owns, is facing the same demand for givebacks.
The 63 members employed by The Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun are feeling bullied by the company’s tactics, said Lois Kirkup, vice president of the ONG (CWA Canada Local 30205). Members are scared and angry, she said.
“And that was their tactic – to scare people into voting for a really lousy deal,” she said.
During the almost three years of bargaining, Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey has received a 33 percent pay increase and bonuses while the Ottawa workers haven’t had a pay increase in six years.
Postmedia is demanding concessions on health benefits and sick leave that could cost ONG members thousands of dollars – members who already made concessions on the pension plan.
The 58 members of the Montreal Guild (CWA Canada Local 30111) who work at The Gazette will strike in solidarity, local President Ron Carroll said.
The executive board of the Communications Workers of America has granted strike approval at the request of CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon.
Virginia journalists choose to join NewsGuild-CWA
By Martha Waggoner, Guild International Chair
Another newsroom has chosen to join The NewsGuild-CWA to give its journalists a voice in their working conditions.
The journalists of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and the Daily Press in Newport News have announced that they’re joining TNG -CWA as they fight to ensure wage equity, fair hiring practices and diversity in the workforce. Continue reading “Virginia journalists choose to join NewsGuild-CWA”
Panel to vote on newsprint tariffs that TNG, publishers oppose
By Martha Waggoner, Guild International Chair
The NewsGuild-CWA and newspapers owners and managers agree on one issue: the tariff increase on paper is wrong and should be eliminated.
The International Trade Commission meets Wednesday to decide the issue. Among those opposing the tariff increase is TNG, through its parent union, the Communications Workers of America. Newspapers have blamed the tariff increase for layoffs and for reductions in print editions.
CWA President Chris Shelton wrote a letter to the commission, urging that it consider the effects of the tariffs on the U.S. news industry. The commission is an independent government agency that will decide whether to maintain the tariff on uncoated groundwood paper.
In his letter written to the commission in July, Shelton references TNG as representing 25,000 journalists and other media workers. He lists the many problems facing the troubled media industry, including a 30 percent decline in newspaper subscriptions over the past decade.
“Given the upheaval already facing the newspaper industry, I am concerned that steep duties on imported uncoated groundwood paper from Canada could make it even harder for newspapers to succeed in the current economic environment,” Shelton wrote in his letter to David Johanson, chair of the commission.
One paper factory in Washington state, North Pacific Paper Co., and its private-equity owner, One Rock Capital, requested the tariff, The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers have reported. The 87-year-old partner of One Rock Capital, John A. Georges, owns multi-million-dollar homes, as does his son, who’s also a partner at One Rock.
Terrance C.Z. Egger, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, told the Inquirer that the tariff “is extremely onerous, unfair and totally unwarranted. The damage it is doing to the already fragile state of the economics of newspapers of all sizes across America is severe.”
Lee threatens to close Missoula Independent if the union doesn’t agree to shed 3/4’s of the staff
Originally Lee Enterprises had threatened to shutter the paper if the employees organized a union. See this videos from KPAX, a major broadcaster in Western Montana, and a video from freelancer Dan Brooks at the link below, or attached to this brief. Continue reading “Lee threatens to close Missoula Independent if the union doesn’t agree to shed 3/4’s of the staff”
Minneapolis hires firm to investigate how draft report on ketamine use was leaked – Guild supports petition to stop the investigation
The Star Tribune’s Andy Mannix broke a story about cops ordering emergency workers to sedate suspects with a powerful tranquilizer called Ketamine. This was done without their consent. The city has opted to hire a law firm at $275 an hour to investigate the leak. In fairness, the city also hired Sally Yates to investigate the use of the drug. See the attached story but also sign the petition against the investigation.
Story is here: http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-city-hires-firm-to-investigate-how-draft-report-on-ketamine-use-was-leaked/489683071/
Petition against the investigation is here:
Show your support for the Capital Gazette workers
Guild leaders, colleagues and friends are asking what is being done to support the families of the five people killed last week in the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland.
Killed were Gerald Fischman, Robert Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, who were gunned down in their newsroom on June 28. The man arrested had held a grudge against the newspaper for several years. Continue reading “Show your support for the Capital Gazette workers”
NewsGuild Statement on Tragic Shooting at Capital Gazette
June 29, 2018 – Following is the statement issued by the NewsGuild-CWA on yesterday’s tragic shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis:
A gunman with a vendetta against the newspaper shot and killed five employees of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. These employees didn’t do their jobs for the money or the glory. Few of us do, but that’s especially true at a local newspaper where journalism is a community service. Continue reading “NewsGuild Statement on Tragic Shooting at Capital Gazette”
An annotated transcript of DFM’s COO and President explaining their management
Here’s a transcript of the meeting between Digital First Media management and employees at the Denver Post on June 19. DFM’s chief operation officer Guy Gilmore and DFM board chair Joseph Fuchs were the main speakers. The meeting took place days after several exiting Denver Post employees announced they are forming a new Denver news website, and it was several months after the “Denver rebellion” garnered headlines and TV news coverage across the nation. —more—
New York NewsGuild requests recognition at the New Yorker Magazine
Statement from the staff of The New Yorker from their website.
The New Yorker has formed a union.
The New Yorker has been a vital force in American journalism for nearly a century. Its deeply reported, clear-eyed, and principled stories have consistently challenged power and exposed injustices and abuses in communities of all kinds. We, the editorial staff of The New Yorker, are very proud of this legacy, and of our place in it. But we believe that the publication must work harder for its employees; the values that run through its pages should be better reflected in the culture of its workplace. Continue reading “New York NewsGuild requests recognition at the New Yorker Magazine”