Guild members at the Washington Post recently lined the hallway outside bargaining to stand with laid off colleagues. The company announced dozens of layoffs of our members on the business side, including members in Client Solutions and Public Relations. Those workers explained what they did for the Post while fighting for improvements to the severance package.
“We’ve carried the Washington Post for years and the company owes it to us to carry us a little longer,” said one client solutions member with over 20 years of service at the company. Another member pointed out how low the layoff severance package was compared to a voluntary buyout. “We deserve better. We deserve respect.”
I’m really proud that the entire Post Guild came together and fought for better severance for our members in the commercial side. The Post can’t run without sales reps and public relations staff. They make the Post run and they’re our Guild family.
Last Wednesday I went to Annapolis, Md. and testified in support of HB51, a bill in the Maryland House of Delegates that would require news organizations to provide 120 days of notice to workers before a sale of the organization could go through.
The bill would provide critical time to find other potential buyers. Too often we’ve seen newsrooms gobbled up by hedge funds and private equity firms that then get stripped for parts. A prime example is The Baltimore Sun, which was bought by Alden Global Capital as part of Tribune Publishing in 2021. Then last year it was bought by Sinclair Executive Chairman David Smith. We’ve lost many talented journalists while The Sun gets passed around. Years ago we launched the “Save Our Sun” campaign to try and get a local buyer, but we were thwarted by Alden.
That’s why we need legislation to slow down a sale and make sure that workers and our communities have a chance to try and purchase the publication. It mirrors legislation passed last year in Illinois.
On Thursday, NBC (again) illegally laid off Guild members amidst negotiations for a first contract. NBC members and the NewsGuild of New York strongly condemned the layoffs of 19 colleagues.
“NBC News execs are living in a fantasy where federal law doesn’t apply to them and the newsroom just rolls over without a fight,” said Tate James, documentary video editor and unit chair. “It’s time to wake up.”
NBC has a history of pulling stunts like this. The NewsGuild of New York has already filed unfair labor practice charges over previous rounds of layoffs in 2023 and 2024.
And, get this: Within 24 hours of the layoffs, NBC posted nearly identical job openings–only with lower salaries. As James put it in a tweet: “Management at @NBCNews illegally laid off 20 of our members yesterday while crying about the budget and not even 24 hours later, they’re trying to hire new candidates in nearly identical roles (and lower salaries)”
This is a clear disregard for workers’ rights. The NBC Digital NewsGuild represents about 300 newsroom staffers and has been fighting for a fair first contract since 2019. They staged a walk out in 2023 after the company illegally laid off seven members in the bargaining unit.
“NBC management has engaged in an unrelenting pattern of union-busting since NBC Digital NewsGuild unionized, including threatening and surveilling employees who are exercising their rights as union members,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York. “We will fight to protect our members and expect management to adhere to labor law and bargain with us.”
NBC is breaking the law. Other organizations that have done these illegal layoffs have been ordered to rehire workers and pay back all the lost wages. It’s dumb and they’ll lose.
Chicago Public Media announced voluntary buyouts last week, raising alarms at the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, the public radio station also owned by Chicago Public Media. Management cited long-term cost-cutting as the reason for the decision, but workers aren’t buying it.
“We are frustrated that our organization’s management did not secure more revenue in the past three years to avoid staffing cuts and secure our stability,” the Chicago Sun-Times Guild said in a statement on Twitter. “It’s harder to swallow knowing the exorbitant executive salaries and bonuses we’ve seen CPM shell out in the past few years.”
And the frustration was echoed in a statement of solidarity from SAG-AFTRA, which represents WBEZ employees.
“We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the Chicago Sun-Times Guild. Cutting staff amid rising executive pay underscores our demands for more financial transparency. Our listeners and donors deserve to know their financial support is going toward expanding our journalism first and foremost.”
At a time when local journalism is more critical now than ever, management’s decision is a step in the wrong direction. Workers are being asked to sacrifice their jobs while executive pay remains untouched. This isn’t about voluntary buyouts, it’s about the future of Chicago newsrooms.
“We need all hands on deck to produce quality print, digital, audio and visual reporting that has made the Chicago-Sun Times and WBEZ the institutions that they are,” the union said.
Workers at Democracy Works ratified their first contract with the News Media Guild! The contract, ratified Thursday, guarantees yearly pay raises, establishes job security, and secures other important workplace rights at the leading civic technology nonprofit organization.
Staff at Democracy Works voted overwhelmingly to unionize in August 2021, and collective bargaining with DW management has been ongoing since February 2022.
“Over the course of a 3-year bargaining fight, our unit has seen many different faces, but the mission of fighting for a more democratic workspace is felt the moment you join the Democracy Workers Collective,” said Clem Vasquez, election researcher and coordination chair of the NMG bargaining unit.
“Thanks to the tireless work of all of our members, both past and present, we have secured a collective bargaining agreement that moves us in the right direction and will help provide security to those who do the work of delivering the best election data to the millions of voters who engage with our work.”
In more NewsGuild wins, the staff of EdSource announced that they are forming a union represented by the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521.
EdSource is an award-winning nonprofit journalism outlet covering education in California and workers say they are hoping to create the best version of EdSource and to protect their work and mission.
“Modern American journalism and the freedoms that enable it have never faced the existential threats they face now,” said Thomas Peele, EdSource’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter.
“It is time for journalists to unite and organize to protect their constitutional mandate to independently report on institutions and power. Joining The NewsGuild only strengthens EdSource’s ability to serve the public by aggressively reporting on education in California.”
Staff at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network won voluntary recognition last week after announcing their intent to unionize earlier this month.
But, while management granted voluntary recognition, they are now trying to exclude three members from the union by claiming that their job titles make them “managers”. But these workers don’t have the authority to hire, fire or make major decisions which are key criteria for excluding someone from the union under labor law.
Workers are calling this move out for what it is: union busting. Excluding these members is an effort to try and weaken the union by dividing workers. As workers said at the start of this campaign: “Nothing about us, without ALL of us”
Staff at the organization are asking supporters to sign their petition and stand with these workers to ensure all workers at the organization have the voice they deserve in the workplace.
Leaders at The Canadian Press started bargaining for a successor agreement this month. David Friend, The Canadian Press branch president, and the rest of the bargaining team asked for folks to sign union membership cards if they haven’t already.
Canadian Media Guild leaders announced that their biennial national convention will be May 27-28 in Toronto, following the CBC Branch Convention on May 26. About 150 CMG members meet every two years to gather and review CMG’s priorities.
CWA District 9 launched their disaster relief fund to help members affected by the fires in Southern California. Guild members are also CWA members and District 9 covers locals in California, Hawaii and Nevada. Every donated dollar will support members with shelter, clothing and essential household items. Donate to the District 9 fund here. Members affected can also work with their local to apply for support from CWA’s Disaster Relief Fund.
Another Guild member lost their home in the Los Angeles fires. Michael Cohen, a staff writer at Wirecutter, lost his home in the Eaton Fire in Altadena. His family launched a GoFundMe to support Michael and his wife Chelsey. Please also chip in for them as you’ve done with other members in need.
Last Tuesday the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was back in court in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Months ago the National Labor Relations Board filed a rare 10(j) injunction request. Tuesday’s hearing was the third and last hearing until final arguments are submitted and the judge renders a decision.
Striker Steve Mellon covered the hearing for the Pittsburgh Union Progress. The hearing lasted more than three hours and the NLRB is asking for an injunction supporting three different unions covering the mailers, press operators and advertising employees. Newsroom employees won their case before the NLRB in September 2024 and are not covered by this injunction.
Folks are still in limbo for a bit longer. Both sides have until February 3 to submit their final paperwork. As always, support our striking family here.
Utica’s local newspapers, the Observer-Dispatch and the Herkimer Times-Telegram, are under attack. Big corporate newschain Gannett is buying up America’s local newspapers and shrinking vital local news coverage, laying off thousands of local journalists who report on the community in Utica, New York.
Join the Utica NewsGuild for a Virtual Town hall at 7 p.m. ET January 30 to learn how you can help these journalists protect their community and its local news coverage. RSVP here.
Have you been through bargaining, or know someone who has? We’re continuing our member bargaining bootcamp – looking for members who have experience at the table and want to learn more to support their local. Our bootcamp runs for several weeks starting February 19 with five two-hour training sessions. Members need to commit to attend all sessions and meet with their group. Talk to your local leaders or reps and register here by February 10.
The Umass Amherst Labor Center is hosting “The Strike 2025” to bring together workers, leaders and scholars from across the U.S. to explore the power of strikes and collective action.
The lineup features an opening keynote by our union sister Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, along with sessions led by unions and organizations including folks from Trader Joe’s United, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Chicago Teachers Union and the UAW.
Registration is $25 and the event takes place in Amherst March 28-29th. You can find the schedule here and register here.
Finally, the NewsGuild’s 2025 Sector Conference is coming up in August. We’ll send official notice soon, but it’ll occur directly before the CWA Convention on August 11 in Pittsburgh. So hold your calendar for August 8-12 and talk to your local about registering as a delegate.
In solidarity,
Jon Schleuss
President
The NewsGuild-CWA