Deerfield Beach, FLORIDA – A supermajority of employees at the South Florida Sun Sentinel voted Monday to form a union to fight for stronger job protections, better pay and benefits, and a louder voice in newsroom decisions.
After the owner, New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital, pushed workers to a vote, 23 eligible members voted unanimously in favor of forming a union. The South Florida Sun Sentinel is the latest Florida-based publication to organize with The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents 27,000 journalists, media, nonprofit and labor union workers across North America.
The NewsGuild is a sector of the Communications Workers of America, which represents employees in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields.
“The action we took today was long overdue,” said Rafael Olmeda, a longtime reporter at the Sun Sentinel who has seen firsthand the decimation of a once robust newsroom. “Our newsroom has been forced to make personal, professional and financial sacrifices to protect profits in which we do not share. We will no longer allow that to happen without fighting for our rights as producers of the content this news organization exists to provide.”
“I used to know exactly how many of my colleagues had been laid off at the Sun Sentinel,” said Susannah Bryan, a veteran journalist at the Sun Sentinel. “The cutbacks started in 2007. I’ve since lost count. Our numbers have dropped by 88%. Those of us who remain love our jobs. And that’s why we are forming a union. We said no to the idea four years ago only to see more colleagues sent out the door two years later. Now is the time.”
“After watching our photo staff suffer from layoffs throughout the years, that really started to hit home,” said longtime visual journalist Mike Stocker, once part of a team of 25 photographers that is now down to four. “I decided to vote for the union and try to secure the future of our newsroom.”
“This is a historic day at the Sun Sentinel,” said veteran education reporter Scott Travis. “For years, we have suffered layoffs, the loss of a 401K match and even pay cuts during the pandemic. Before, we just had to accept it without a fight. Now our hard-working journalists will finally have a seat at the table to negotiate a better future.”
Workers at the Sun Sentinel first announced their campaign to unionize on July 3, 2024, sharing a mission statement with management that outlines their priorities of transparency, pay and benefits, job security, and opportunities for growth.
“The union is our way of defending the future of our newsroom – and South Florida’s access to quality local journalism,” the mission statement reads. “We seek fair compensation and benefits, a healthy work-life balance and the opportunity to grow professionally.”
For more information, contact Sun Sentinel reporter Rafael Olmeda at 954-304-5256 and Carson Leigh Brown, TNG campaign lead, at 646-988-4264.