SAN ANTONIO — Employees of the San Antonio Express-News and MySA.com on Wednesday notified Hearst management of their intent to unionize.
The San Antonio NewsGuild will advocate for fair wages, competitive benefits and layoff protections. Organizers petitioned for voluntary recognition from Mark Medici, the publisher of the Express-News and MySA, and Hearst Newspapers. Hearst’s labor counsel notified organizers Wednesday afternoon that the company has denied the union’s request for voluntary recognition. Organizers are filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.
In a mission statement presented to Medici, members wrote: “We will strive for an inclusive environment where every member feels respected, valued and able to reach their full potential. Our union is dedicated to promoting a workplace that celebrates differences in race, gender, age, sexual orientation and background. We are advocating for fair and competitive compensation, stable benefits and career development opportunities. The San Antonio Express-News and MySA are forming a union to safeguard our future as a news provider.”
Many Express-News and MySA journalists enjoy their jobs and benefits, and they want to ensure that continues through future changes in management or overall volatility in the industry.
Having a seat at the table will help San Antonio journalists build a stronger newsroom, which has shrunk in recent years. While journalists have risen to the challenge of doing more with less, this path is not sustainable.
The union will represent an estimated 68 eligible journalists on the editorial staff of the publications.
Forty-six employees — about 68% of those eligible — signed union authorization cards expressing their desire to be represented by the San Antonio NewsGuild, part of Media Guild of the West The NewsGuild-CWA #39213. Forty-five employees, or 66%, signed onto the mission statement.
“We love the San Antonio Express-News, and we love doing journalism in this old town. Those are the same reasons we’ve taken this extraordinary step to stand together as members of the San Antonio NewsGuild,” said Elaine Ayala, a metro columnist for the Express-News. “We didn’t come to this decision lightly. We made it after careful reflection of this newsroom’s past, present and future. The truth is we’ve needed union representation at the Express-News for a long time, and we’re glad this day has finally arrived. What we know now is that we promise to continue to produce good journalism, to be faithful to our jobs and to one another, and to work with management to reach common goals.”
“I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues and be a part of the San Antonio NewsGuild,” said Josie Norris, a photojournalist at the Express-News. “From my time as an intern with the Express-News to becoming a staff photographer, one of the few constants I see is change. In an uncertain media landscape, a union offers the journalists and photojournalists of the Express-News a seat at the table when it comes to making our newsrooms an even better place to work. Journalism is important more than ever, and having each others’ backs only strengthens our ability to document and celebrate what makes San Antonio special.”
“As someone who returned to Hearst after a brief stint at a unionized workplace, I am ecstatic that we are coming together as a newsroom to form a union,” said Polly Anna Rocha, a food reporter at MySA. “The experience of organizing alongside my fellow reporters has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career. I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish as a unit.”
“The news industry is shifting so rapidly that newsrooms are always facing drastic changes to keep up, including layoffs,” said Steven Santana, a digital reporter at MySA. “That’s why forming a union is necessary. We want us and future employees to have a seat at the table to help shape those changes and protect ourselves now and for years to come.”
“I’ve always supported the rights of workers to organize and have a collective voice,” said Gilbert Garcia, an editorial writer and columnist for the Express-News. “In this time of uncertainty in the news business, it is particularly important for journalists to have that kind of representation. That’s why I support the San Antonio NewsGuild.”
Journalists of the San Antonio NewsGuild work for the fourth Texas news outlet to announce an intent to organize in 2024. Employees of the Houston Landing, Texas Tribune and San Antonio Report have all announced unionization campaigns since the start of the year.
Background:
The San Antonio Express-News is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. Originally published in 1865 as the San Antonio Express, the paper rebranded as the Express-News in 1984. It is the third-largest newspaper in the state and offers subscriber content at ExpressNews.com.
MySA, also known as MySA.com or mySanAntonio.com, is the paywall-free and ad-supported sister website to the Express-News. Both outlets are owned and published by Hearst Newspapers, but they have separate staff.
Three other Hearst-owned papers — the San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union and Norwalk Hour — have long-standing newspaper unions.
Writers at Hearst Magazines, another division of Hearst, announced their intent to unionize in 2019 and faced pushback from Hearst leadership. The Hearst Magazines Media Union, part of the Writers Guild of America, was chartered in 2020 after staffers voted 241-83 to form a collective bargaining unit.