NewsGuild and CWA members recognized Labor Day across the continent — from DC to Buffalo, Toronto and Pittsburgh. They marched, rallied, picnicked and showed what solidarity and power look like.
Labor Day is a reminder that the protection we have at the workplace came from workers sticking together, organizing and fighting together.
Journalists in France get paid when AI uses their work, so why do U.S. journalists get shut out?
French unions won agreements ensuring that when publishers strike AI licensing deals, journalists get a direct share of the revenue. At Le Monde, that’s 25% of AI licensing revenue redistributed to staff.
Similar deals are spreading across the French press under their “neighboring rights” law, which ensures journalists benefit when tech companies profit off their work.
In the U.S., it’s a different story: companies cut secret AI deals and refuse to share details, let alone revenue, with workers.
“We have raised revenue distribution at multiple bargaining tables. However, companies refuse to provide basic details about the revenue deals they’re striking,” I said in an interview with NiemanLab.
We are demanding change. Across 43 Guild contracts, members have already won AI protections with language to guard against job displacement, require labeling of AI-generated content and create ethical AI committees. But when it comes to money, management is stonewalling.
I told NiemanLab that journalists will be arguing aggressively for a share of that revenue when contracts come up for negotiation. Several large newsroom agreements expire soon and we should get fairly compensated when our work is training AI.
That’s why we’ve only backed legislation when it protects and supports newsroom jobs. In the last Congress, we only supported the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act when it directed 70% of licensing revenue to journalists and had the transparency to back it up. Similar bills have been floated in California and Oregon.
IFJ Unions and donors launched a new fund to keep Palestinian journalism alive amid unprecedented losses.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) convened diplomats, NGOs and media organizations to back the creation of a Palestine Media Support Fund. The goal: provide material and legal aid to news outlets and reporters in Gaza and the West Bank.
The urgency is staggering. Since the war began, at least 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza, 200 media houses destroyed, and more than 13% of Gaza’s journalists lost. The fund would operate as an independent public institution, providing grants to rebuild newsrooms and support Palestinian journalists’ ability to keep reporting.
Guild members and labor allies picketed with the Everett Herald Guild last week, demanding fair wages and working conditions from Carpenter Media Group. Reporters shouldn’t have to choose between impossible quotas and quality journalism.
The event made it clear: labor allies and the community stand with our members — and we won’t stop until Everett journalists win the contract they deserve.
After 500 days of bargaining, the Science News members authorized a strike with 92% support. 500 days is too long to bargain for a first contract. They’re demanding pay equity, transparency and a fair remote work policy. Management has stalled long enough. It’s time to recognize the talent and dedication of this newsroom and pay them accordingly.
Support the workers by singing their petition here.
Staff at Nebraska Appleseed announced their union — Appleseed Workers United — with a supermajority support for voluntary recognition.
Appleseed, a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1996, fights for justice and opportunity across Nebraska on issues like child welfare, immigration, health care and poverty. Now, the staff behind that mission are organizing to strengthen it.
In their statement, workers said they want to model “a workplace that is democratic, equitable, and anti-racist” — one that reflects the community-centric organizing Appleseed is known for.
Journalists at Defense News and Military Times spoke out at the Defense News Conference, demanding management stop union-busting and bargain fairly.
Journalists from the Sightline Media Union wore red, leafleted and spoke out at management’s recent conference in DC. Their action showed the industry that workers aren’t backing down and that it’s time for Sightline to respect its journalists at the table.
Workers at Invest in Louisiana have ratified their first contract with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild and secured big wins for equity, transparency, and worker power.
Invest in Louisiana (formerly the Louisiana Budget Project) is a nonpartisan think tank that drives policy change to advance economic prosperity for all Louisianans through sound analysis, independent research and community engagement.
Highlights include:
- $2,000 annual raises + anniversary bonuses
- 12 weeks fully paid parental leave (16 weeks total)
- $750 professional development stipend
- Workload guardrails and stronger DEI protections
- Expanded holidays: Lundi Gras, Mardi Gras, Juneteenth, MLK Day, year-end week
- Layoff protections: 8 weeks’ notice, 3 months’ healthcare, 18-month recall rights
- 5% retirement contribution, life & disability coverage
Workers first won recognition in March 2022. With these protections and guaranteed raises, Invest in Louisiana workers are setting a new standard for nonprofit staff across the South.
Journalists at the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative have formed the CVJC Guild and are seeking voluntary recognition with Pacific Media Workers Guild.
Every eligible staffer signed on to the effort, citing a need for inclusion in decision-making, transparency, and a sustainable future for local news in the Central Valley.
“The journalists of CVJC are unionizing to fight for a healthy, inclusive, and equitable work environment that empowers journalists to deliver news that reflects what our community expects and demands from us,” the Guild says in its mission statement. “As members of the communities we cover, we are forming this union to ensure our journalism serves our neighbors.”
Signal Ohio journalists are demanding recognition as a single, united bargaining unit, but management is trying to split them into three.
A supermajority of editorial staff, including 100% of the 14 full-time reporters, have joined together to form the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild. Instead of recognizing the union, management hired notorious anti-union law firm Jackson Lewis to try to intimidate workers and reduce their collective power.
This isn’t standard practice. Other nonprofit newsrooms like Chalkbeat, CitySide, The Marshall Project and Texas Tribune all recognized their unions as one unit. Signal Ohio should do the same.
Support workers at Signal Ohio by sending a letter to management demanding they recognize Signal Ohio’s ONE big union.
Journalists at the New York Daily News went on the radio to call out Alden Global Capital’s cuts and demand a fair contract.
Sports writer Antwan Staley joined The Michael Kay Show to explain how Alden’s hedge-fund ownership has gutted staffing and harmed local coverage: “Alden is a hedge fund that cares about one thing and one thing only — money.”
➡️ Listen here.
Join us for the next steward training session, focused on how stewards maintain effective union structures and assess power in their workplace
TNG Steward Training Module 2: A Workplace Organizer
📅 Sept. 18, 2025
🕖 7:00 PM ET
This module will help stewards sharpen the skills needed to build strong, democratic shops.
➡️ Register here.
Solidarity,
Jon Schleuss
President
The NewsGuild-CWA