A contingent of NewsGuild of New York members protested Gannett CEO Mike Reed outside a Citi technology conference in New York City on Friday, blasting the nation’s biggest news chain for laying off more than 400 employees while spending lavishly on executive compensation and stock buybacks. All this, despite the fact that the company received $16 million in taxpayer subsidies from the Paycheck Protection Program.
At the end of the protest, Reed came outside to talk to the union members. He said he was committed to settling contracts with NewsGuild units by the end of the year and that workers can hold him to it.
“We intend to do just that,” said Adrian Szkolar, a producer for the Atlantic Digital Optimization Team and vice chair of the Atlantic DOT Guild. Core NewsGuild demands include strong salary minimums, increased staffing, and a real commitment to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.
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