Category: News

On Wednesday, workers at the New York Times and the Washington Post engaged in collective actions, mobilizing hundreds of workers demanding fair contracts. Both groups called on newsroom management to get to the negotiating table and agree to contracts raising minimum pay immediately.

“We are all worthy of fair pay, no matter what our title is,” said Katie Mettler, vice president at the Washington-Baltimore News Guild and a Post reporter covering police, courts and incarceration in Maryland. “We are worthy of fair pay no matter our race or gender or identity.”

“We’ve been bargaining for nine months and the company still has not given us a thorough and fair wage proposal,” said Kathleen Floyd, a steward at the Post who works in public relations for the company.

Hundreds of workers gathered in Franklin Park in downtown Washington, D.C. across the street from the Washington Post’s main newsroom. Other workers walked out during lunch across the country.

Around the same time in New York, hundreds of New York Times workers rallied at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, calling on the company to reach an agreement and consider the proposals of about 2,000 unionized workers at the company.

Their demands:

1. Drop the givebacks you are demanding from The Times Guild in contract negotiations at a time of overwhelming financial success for the company.
2. Agree to just cause with no exceptions for The Times Tech Guild’s first contract and all future contracts with Guild units, and stop firing workers without cause.
3. Reappropriate the funds needed to close the gap between The Times Guild’s contract proposals and the company’s, which amounts to less than $15 million — a mere fraction of the $400 million in stock buybacks that has been authorized to go to shareholders.
4. Discuss the contributions of Guild members to the success of the company and how you plan to recognize them in a manner that upholds the values of the company.
5. Commit to regular, frequent bargaining sessions with all Guild units in negotiations.
6. Reach an agreement on a new contract with The Times Guild without further delay.

The actions occurred just two days after hundreds of workers at Insider walked off the job for a day, protesting layoffs threatened by the company.

More than 250 media workers at Insider Inc. struck for one day on Monday, protesting the company’s proposal to lay off 60 Guild-represented journalists, eliminating 20 percent of the bargaining unit and significantly reducing the size of the award-winning newsroom. 

Insider management proposed the sweeping cuts last Thursday, April 20th, as part of a plan to reduce staff while still bargaining for a first contract with Insider Union. Insider Union members are represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

“Our unit was shocked and infuriated when management told us they wanted to lay off 60 of our coworkers even though there’s no urgent financial need for these cuts,” said Emma LeGault, Insider Union Unit Chair. “The company seemingly wants to protect its own profits, but it is us, the workers, who are being asked to pay the price.”

“I’m proud of the work I do for Insider,” said April Joyner, an Insider Union shop steward and Insider Correspondent who is on management’s proposed list for layoff. “Hearing that the company wanted to eliminate my position with no financial urgency was really insulting. I’m proud to walk out with my colleagues and stand united in our fight.”

In April 2021, more than 300 employees at ​​Insider announced they had formed a union of workers across editorial, including reporters, editors, producers and designers. Insider Union was officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board  the following June after the workers voted 241-14 in favor of unionization. The workers are still fighting for their first contract. 

“Insider management is attempting to undermine the bargaining process by proposing staffing cuts while refusing to agree to fair and reasonable layoff language, wage increases, and newsroom protections for the journalists who are central to the company’s success,” said Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York. “Insider Union members are demanding that the company bargain in good faith and rescind the effort to push their colleagues out of the newsroom. We are demanding a fair contract that will make Insider the best it can be for everyone.” 

Attempting to do layoffs before a first contract is reached is illegal under U.S. labor law.

The NewsGuild of New York released the following statement from President Susan DeCarava in response to an announcement from BuzzFeed News that it will be shutting down its operations:

“We’re deeply dismayed by the announced closing of this groundbreaking digital newsroom. Dozens of journalists represented by The NewsGuild of New York work at BuzzFeed News, and we are concerned both about their future and the broader impact of this announcement on the media industry at large.

The collective bargaining contract that the BuzzFeed News Union won in 2021 includes a number of protections to ensure workers aren’t left with nothing in case of sudden layoffs. We expect that BuzzFeed will honor those commitments now, and we are prepared to enforce the terms of that contract if they don’t.

Today’s news demonstrates why it’s so important for media workers to unionize. Corporate bottom lines privilege profitability all the time. As a union, our collective bottom line is to the workers who made BuzzFeed News the innovative news organization it is, and to the communities and public interest that the newsroom and our members serve. There are real life consequences when management favors short-term returns over long-term investments. That’s why we fight hard for contracts that provide protections and support for workers unfairly left holding the bag from a company’s questionable decisions.”

Two of California’s largest journalism unions submitted a joint letter of support for the California Journalism Preservation Act (AB 886, Wicks) on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

This marks the first time that trade unions representing American journalists are supporting a bill that seeks to level the economic playing field between massive tech platforms and news publishers.

Media Contact:
Matt Parr, Private Equity Stakeholder Project Staff Union
PESPcoordinators@gmail.com
773-234-4855

On Wednesday, April 19, the staff of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project announced the formation of a union within the Denver Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local 37074), part of Communications Workers of America – District 7 (CWA). The PESP Staff Union (PESP-SU) is now seeking voluntary recognition from the nonprofit organization.

The 11 employees represent all aspects of PESP’s work activities, supporting nationally-recognized research and campaigns to pull back the curtain on the scope and negative effects of the private equity industry. With the formation of this union, PESP staff look to join the movement of other mission-driven nonprofit organizations that recognize the importance and solidarity of unionized workplaces. Through collective bargaining, these nonprofits, including PESP, can commit to fair and equitable working conditions for employees, while also enhancing the services they provide to marginalized communities across the country.

Today, staff at the ACLU of Kentucky, ACLU of Louisiana, and ACLU of Mississippi joined over a hundred fellow ACLU workers in organizing a union. Collectively known as ACLU Southern Affiliates United, workers at the three ACLU affiliates have organized with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG) and are requesting joint recognition from their employer. Their announcement follows ACLU-D.C. Staff United, who just last week requested recognition of their union with WBNG.

This week workers at Cityside — a nonprofit journalism outlet devoted to covering the Bay Area through two local news sites, Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside — announced their intention to organize as part of the Pacific Media Workers Guild.

With unanimous support of their membership, the Cityside Guild is seeking voluntary recognition from their management.

The Pacific Media Workers Guild (TNG-CWA Local 39521) is helping the workers organize as they build power in their workplace.

Tuesday morning staffers at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, DC announced their intent to unionize, joining a wave of workers unionizing at other ACLU affiliates in North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Minnesota and Kansas.

The workers published their mission on Twitter, writing:

ACLU-D.C. prioritizes justice, equity, and inclusion in its work and, as the workers of this organization, we believe it should maintain those priorities in its self-governance. To this end, staff has joined other affiliates and thousands of other non-profit workers across the country to form ACLU-D.C. Staff United, the newest collective to join the labor movement.

Our union will provide a democratic and accountable structure through which staff can support the greatest ideals of ACLU-D.C. We will build and share power, make collective decisions, and promote transparency and collaboration with management. Our greatest aim is to ensure that the workers who are most impacted by the organization’s policies can shape our working conditions.

Together, we will build on ACLU-D.C.’s strong foundation to develop anti-racist policies and create sustainable conditions that empower staff to thrive as we build a more just and free D.C.

MLex and FTCWatch employees across the US came together and formed a union, and are now seeking voluntary recognition as MLex Guild from LexisNexis and its parent company, RELX.

MLex Guild, more than 20 workers at MLex and FTCWatch, will be a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America, and is comprised of employees based in Washington, San Francisco and New York.