Wirecutter workers on strike; most tweets ratioed

100% of workers at Wirecutter, the product-review company owned by the New York Times, are on strike. The job action, which began on Black Friday, will wrap up after today – Cyber Monday. The work stoppage was timed to coincide with company’s busiest week of the year and all signs indicate that it was extremely effective.

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Guild leaders urge Lee board to continue the fight against Alden

The 12 unionized newsrooms of Lee Enterprises implored the Board of Directors to reject any offer by Alden Global Capital to acquire the company in a letter dated Nov. 29.

Calling Alden’s claim that it is committed to the newspaper industry a “bald-faced lie,” they urged Lee’s board to, “Stand up for us. Stand up for your investors. Stand up for your communities. Stand up against Alden.”

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Alden’s sleight-of-hand bid demands a closer look

Editor’s note: This article first appeared on the website of DFMworkers.org on Nov. 23, 2021.

The executives at Florida-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital must be restless. 

No longer content with extracting the lifeblood from two of the nation’s largest local newspaper chains, it’s now stalking Lee Enterprises.

Alden announced, via a Monday-morning press release, that it wants to buy all of Lee Enterprises for $24 a share, in cash.

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NewsGuild denounces Alden’s continued bid to destroy local news

The union is calling on Lee’s board to reject Alden’s takeover bid.

The NewsGuild-CWA denounces the purchase offer made yesterday by Alden Global Capital for Lee Enterprises. If advanced, the deal would give Alden control of three of the four largest chains of newspapers in the United States. Such industry concentration would have a negative impact on consumers who depend on local news, employees who work for Lee papers and on our democracy.

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Newsletter: A real Dr. Evil moment

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Last week I joined members and leaders in a rally in front of the New York Times. We came to deliver a message: Stop union busting and respect our union.

It was a brisk day, but I was thrilled to see so many NewsGuild of New York members from several different newsrooms show up in support! There were three groups of workers from the New York Times there fighting for respect: Wirecutter, the NYT Tech Guild and the NYT Guild.

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NLRB: Return-to-Office Plans are a Mandatory Subject of Bargaining

While dismissing a charge by the NY Guild, the agency gave workers a big win.

The National Labor Relations Board dismissed an Unfair Labor Practice charge by the NewsGuild of New York on Wednesday but upheld the union’s most important claim: Management has an obligation to bargain with the union over return-to-office plans and vaccine mandates.

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