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Journalists powering Signal Ohio’s nonprofit newsrooms in Akron, Cleveland and Columbus won voluntary recognition of their union, making the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild an official member of the Northeast Ohio NewsGuild, Local 34001 of Communications Workers of America.
Staffers went public with their union drive on Aug. 26. More than 80% of eligible employees – including all 14 of the organization’s full-time reporters – signed union cards to form the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild. The group also formally filed an election with the National Labor Relations Board. Signal Ohio’s leadership voluntarily recognized the group on Sept. 19.
“We appreciate leadership’s recognition and look forward to collaboratively shaping the future of Signal Ohio,” the group wrote in a recent social media post announcing the news and thanking its supporters.
Now, the Signal Ohio news Workers Guild turns to beginning the collective bargaining process to develop its first contract. The group has rescinded its petition for an NLRB election.
Employees organized to ensure workers across the organization are fairly represented in crafting policies that create a sustainable and equitable workplace.
“We care deeply about the communities we serve and the journalism we produce,” members noted in a mission statement. “Many of us are founding members of our newsrooms, the first of which launched nearly three years ago, and all of us are committed to seeing them succeed.”
The union’s mission statement also nods to the “civic muscle” the organization has built in its newsrooms as well as with its Documenters programs in Cleveland, Akron and Cincinnati. Those programs steward communities of curious residents who are trained and paid to document local government meetings, creating a new public record.
Signal Ohio’s first newsroom launched in 2022. Since then, the organization has grown to a full-time staff of nearly 30 people across the state.