FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2025
Media Contact: Dylan Manshack, dmanshack@wbng.org, 202-445-4033
WASHINGTON – Journalists at The Hill, represented by the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, have voted 46-1 to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement with Nexstar Media Group, Inc., securing increases in pay, vacation time and family leave.
The agreement is the culmination of nearly three years of negotiations and organizing, despite union-busting tactics from Nexstar management. The Hill voted overwhelmingly to unionize in May 2022, less than a year after Nexstar acquired it, and began negotiating its first-ever contract that September.
The two-year agreement ratified late Wednesday increases the salary floor for The Hill’s junior-most employees by roughly 18 percent and guarantees annual raises across the newsroom. It doubles the amount of parental leave, adds protections around artificial intelligence and guarantees job security—Nexstar management now needs just cause to fire workers, and layoffs have to happen on an objective basis.
The new contract also gives members more time to recover and build a life.
“Thanks to this contract, I’m going to get the first three months at home with our new baby,” said Saul Elbein, a member of The Hill Guild’s bargaining team. “It means more than I can say to be able to be at home for those first crucial months.”
In addition to increasing family leave from six weeks to 12 weeks, the contract also offers another week of vacation time, sick leave and bereavement time.“This contract stands as a powerful testament to the determination and unity of The Hill—and sends a clear message that when we stand together, we win,” said Brooke Migdon, another member of the bargaining team.
“We’d be remiss, however, to not acknowledge that Nexstar is still insistent on laying off 22 of our colleagues. While this agreement includes language guaranteeing voluntary buyouts to mitigate layoffs, The Hill Guild continues to strongly condemn Nexstar’s pursuit of layoffs as it reports record profits.”
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About The Hill Guild
The Hill Guild is a group of reporters, editors and newsroom employees organizing to build a more sustainable and accountable workplace at The Hill. United across teams and job functions, we are committed to strengthening our newsroom and protecting the integrity of our journalism through collective action. We are organizing with the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 32035, part of The NewsGuild-CWA, the largest union of journalists and media workers in North America.