Media Contact: Asya Pikovsky, asya.pikovsky@gmail.com, 207-522-2442
NEW YORK – In response to the release of Gannett’s Quarter 1 earnings calls today, The NewsGuild-CWA released the following statement from President Jon Schleuss. The NewsGuild-CWA represents more than 50 Gannett bargaining units across the country, collectively covering more than 1,000 employees.
“Gannett’s rosy projections today left out the employees who are paying the price for its corporate greed and mismanagement – especially Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reporters who were on the verge of a contract before Gannett pulled yet another dirty trick out of its book: a bait and switch in which they walked back prior agreements and tried to sneak in wholesale revisions.
The truth is, Gannett’s entire business model is built on breaking its promises to workers – whether it’s pulling back on a contract at the last moment or failing to build out newsroom positions it has pledged to fill. Gannett has consistently failed to invest in the workers who drive its success – the journalists who work long hours to deliver quality journalism to their communities. Instead, it has steered its gains to the top, while underpaying journalists and slashing staff.
In the end, this is a losing strategy. Instead of broken promises and bad-faith bargaining, Gannett must invest in its newsrooms, come to the bargaining table, and deliver the fair contracts that workers deserve.”