News | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA

NewsGuild calls on Biden to support press freedom around the world, including Saudi Arabia

Updated 5 p.m. – NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss said, “It’s good to see that President Biden raised the murder of Jamal Khashoggi with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Now he must hold the Saudi government accountable.”

Today NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss released the following statement on the meeting between President Biden and Saudi leaders:

America’s journalists call on the Biden administration to advance human rights and protect press freedoms around the world.

President Biden once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah and even released U.S. intelligence reports that pinned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the killing of Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Members of SPLC Union ratify first contract

Members of the SPLC Union ratified their first contract on Wednesday, with 99% voting yes. The unit represents close to 200 staffers of the storied Southern Poverty Law Center at 11 offices in 5 states. They’re part of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035.

Union members, leaders and staff celebrate on Zoom after winning a first contract.

Newsletter: Guild members are winning so many contracts!

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We’ve been off the newsletter for the last couple of weeks because of the holiday, travel and some folks being off. And boy did a lot happen in two weeks since our last newsletter!

We were planning to say that WIRED workers were on strike yesterday and today, but late Monday night they inked a deal with Condé Nast for a three-year contract. They announced it on Twitter just a few minutes before midnight. More details will be out soon, but the group represents more than 55 workers at WIRED who unionized in April 2020. They went public then with 85% support and have run many collective actions increasing pressure on the company to settle.

This is how you do it. BUT—

WIRED Union wins a first contract after strike threat

The WIRED union, a unit of The NewsGuild of New York, which represents more than 55 workers at the technology magazine, reached an agreement on a first contract with management late Monday night. The culmination of nearly 14 months of bargaining, the agreement allows the company to avoid a planned strike on Amazon Prime Days, July 12th and 13th, two of the most lucrative traffic days of the year for WIRED Magazine. More than 95% of the unit had signed on to walk off the job this morning.

Workers took the WIRED Union public with 85% support in April of 2020, joining media workers at The New Yorker, Ars Technica and Pitchfork in the ranks of unionized Condé Nast publications. This past March, around 500 more workers at Condé Nast, including at storied publications such as Vogue, GQ, Allure, and Bon Appétit also unionized with The NewsGuild of New York as Condé Nast Union.

Map of the U.S. with light and dark blue dots showing the concentration of newspapers.

Local news is in trouble, new report finds

Local news is in trouble, according to the latest report by “news deserts” researcher Penny Abernathy.

And it’s deepening a crisis for our democracy and our society. “The loss of local journalism has been accompanied by the malignant spread of misinformation and disinformation, political polarization, eroding trust in media, and a yawning digital and economic divide among citizens,” the State of Local News concludes.

“In communities without a credible source of local news, voter participation declines, corruption in both government and business increases, and local residents end up paying more in taxes and at checkout,” the report says.

WIRED Union members set to strike during Amazon Prime Day July 12-13

More than 60 employees at Condé Nast’s technology magazine are fighting for a first contract. They’re asking the public to honor their digital picket line.

The staff of Wired, the science and technology magazine owned by Condé Nast, announced Thursday that over 97% of workers are prepared to strike on Amazon Prime Days July 12-13 if the company refuses to bargain in good faith and fails to reach an agreement with the union before then.

Newsletter: Abortion as a healthcare right and collective action

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Access to abortion is a fundamental health care right and a matter of personal choice. And we’re going to fight for it by doing what we do best: organizing to protect our rights in the workplace.

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

NewsGuild vows to continue fight for access to abortion

The NewsGuild-CWA vowed today to continue to fight for access to abortion as a fundamental health care right and as a matter of personal choice.

Media unions tell FCC to reject local news takeover

The NewsGuild-CWA and NABET-CWA petitioned the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday to reject the attempted takeover of TEGNA by hedge fund Standard General and private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

NewsGuild assembly set for Wednesday, June 15

If you haven’t already signed up for the Guild assembly, “Was that the Reckoning? Addressing anti-Black racism in the news industry,” now’s the time!

The event is at 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, June 15, and will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the landmark 1619 Project; NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava; Desiree Stennett, race and equity reporter for the Orlando Sentinel and Erin Logan of the Los Angeles Times.

As unionized media workers, we have an opportunity and the responsibility to hold our employers — and ourselves — accountable.