FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: fortworthreportersguild@gmail.com
FORT WORTH, Texas — Staff at the Fort Worth Report have overwhelmingly voted to form a union, according to election results from the National Relations Labor Board on Monday.
Journalists and non-management staff voted 11-1 in favor of union representation as part of the Media Guild of the West and The NewsGuild-CWA.
Fort Worth Report’s board of directors challenged the union eligibility of two staff members — one of whom cast a ballot and another who didn’t. Because the board and the guild could not reach an agreement on eligibility, those two members were not counted in the vote’s final tally.
Staff will now have the right to negotiate as the Fort Worth Reporters Guild for a union contract governing their pay and working conditions.
“These results were not based on mob rule, but rather a reflection of every single unit member who has been heavily involved in this process since its launch,” the Guild’s organizing committee said. “This is the next and vital step for our community newsroom, and we look forward to steering trusted news forward in Tarrant County together.”
The secret ballot election was triggered when the Fort Worth Report board of directors and CEO/Publisher Chris Cobler declined to voluntarily recognize the union in late January.
Staff at the Fort Worth Report have faced several union-avoidance measures from management in recent weeks, including the hiring of a national third-party labor relations firm that specializes in advising employers on how to oppose unionization and keep workplaces “union free.”
Union organizers launched the unit to improve workplace conditions in one of the state’s few nonprofit newsrooms. The union will advocate for a transparent pay scale and regular raises, protections against layoffs and unjust firings, fair hiring standards, and essential benefits for its 12 workers.
The Guild looks forward to working with the Report’s management and board of directors to establish a fair and constructive bargaining process in the near future.
The Fort Worth Report becomes Texas’ sixth unionized newsroom, joining Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune, San Antonio Report and Austin American-Statesman.
About Fort Worth Reporters Guild
The Fort Worth Reporters Guild is the union of employees at Fort Worth Report, the nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization serving Tarrant County. The Guild is organizing with the Media Guild of the West (TNG-CWA Local 39213) with the goal of creating a workplace where all employees can build lasting and sustainable professional careers.