There has been so much news in the last week and most of it done by Guild members. And there’s just so much news it can feel exhausting.
I want to highlight the work done by our members at Wired who keep getting scoops while covering DOGE and Elon Musk. According to CNN’s Reliable Sources, WIRED’s reporters have helped lead a surge in subscriptions. Guild members are awesome. Keep doing great work!
President Trump destroyed the National Labor Relations Board’s decision-making authority when he fired Gwynne Wilcox, first Black woman to serve on the Board. He also fired the general counsel and the acting general counsel. His moves have temporarily paralyzed the Board. The NLRB is the only federal agency charged with protecting the organizing and bargaining rights of private sector workers in the United States.
Trump’s firing of Wilcox is illegal and unprecedented under the National Labor Relations Act, which only allows a president to remove a board member for “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.” Presidents have the right to nominate Board members, who are then confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Wilcox was confirmed by the Senate twice with bipartisan support.
This morning Wilcox sued Trump, challenging his decision to remove her and requesting an injunction to be reinstated to the Board.
“My removal, without cause or process, directly violates that law,” Wilcox said in a statement this morning. “I hope to be able to fulfill the job that the Senate confirmed me to do so the crucial work of the NLRB can continue.”
Trump’s removal of Wilcox deprives the NLRB of a quorum. And without that, the Board cannot issue final decisions on unfair labor practice complaints pursued on behalf of workers and unions, leaving statutory violations unremedied. Board decisions have a wide-reaching impact on the labor rights of tens of millions of workers in the private sector, whether they’re in a union or not.
Our union across the U.S. have numerous pending unfair labor practice charges and complaints against multiple employers, including the ongoing ULPs against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which the Board found had violated federal law by imposing changes to terms and conditions of employment without bargaining in good faith.
I highlighted three decisions on our website and dug into the situation more.
I also talked with NiemanLab about the consequences of an NLRB under the Trump presidency. During his first term in office about 3,400 media workers unionized with the Guild. And since 2016, nearly 8,000 media workers from 146 companies organized with us. I’m one of ‘em. Workers experiencing chaos in their lives are going to be highly motivated to reduce chaos in their jobs. Collective bargaining does that.
Sixty-seven lives were lost when a military helicopter collided with PSA Flight 5342 last week, including one of our members at Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild – Kiah Duggins.
Kiah was a fierce advocate for her colleagues at the Civil Rights Corps., where she held management to account. She was a civil rights attorney who grew up in Wichita, Kan. and was returning to her home in Washington, D.C. after visiting her family.
We are heartbroken at this loss and extend our deepest condolences to her family, our members who worked alongside her and our entire union family as we collectively process this tragedy. We also mourn the loss of the passengers, crew and service members, including two of our CWA siblings at the Association of Flight Attendants.
Workers at New York Magazine are prepared to walk off the job unless they receive a fair contract with strong AI protections. Workers have tried to reach a fair agreement, but Vox Media, the owner, has refused to be reasonable while at the same time inking an opaque deal with OpenAI.
“New York Magazine employees have helped the magazine and Vox Media survive, and all we are asking for is that Vox helps ensure our survival,” said Bridget Read, New York Magazine Union Unit Chair.
Despite Vox Media’s revenue growth, management has refused to guarantee job security, wages that keep pace with inflation or AI protections.
“The company has refused to tell us where that money is going, but we can say with confidence that the money is not going to the employees who produce the work that made that deal valuable in the first place,” said Reeves Wiedeman, the union’s Vice Chair.
These workers deserve real protections, not empty promises. If they walk, I’ll be there – and I encourage everyone to honor their digital picket line if it comes to that.
Sign the NY Mag Reader Pledge and follow @nyguild and @nymagunion to support their fight.
Journalists at LancasterOnline and WITF public radio station voted to unionize with The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia Local 38010 in a 39-10 vote.
Workers formed plans to unionize after management laid off 10 percent of its staff one month after the new management took over. CEO Ron Hetrick had previously told news staff that the company wouldn’t reduce its workforce for five years.
Now, the journalists will soon begin bargaining a first contract.
“When we approached the Guild in November, a lot of people were unhappy with recent changes in our leadership and in our newsroom,” said Brett Sholtis, an investigative reporter at LNP. “But this quickly became about so much more than that.
“We want to make sure we’re able to keep serving the community.”
The journalists joined the Philadelphia Inquirer, Spotlight PA and other news organizations represented by the local. They continue a wave of organizing in newsrooms, with more than 8,000 journalists and media workers organizing with The NewsGuild-CWA since 2016.
Metro Caring workers won their union election in a landslide 15-2 vote last week after management refused their initial request for voluntary recognition. Metro Caring is one of Denver’s oldest nonprofits, making this a historic victory for staff at the anti-hunger organization.
Metro Caring workers join the Denver Newspaper Guild Local 37074 with other nonprofit workers from Denver Urban Gardens Workers United, who recently won their first contract.
“While I’ve never been part of a union before, throughout my working life I’ve received the benefit of the work that unions put in over past generations protecting workers and helping to provide a safe, dignified work environment,” said Lucor Jordan, member of the MCWU Bargaining Committee and founding member of the union.
“I’m now proud to be part of a new chapter in the non-profit sector,” he said.
Now, workers will begin bargaining their first contract. Support them by following @mcworkersunited on Instagram.
The Los Angeles Times announced another round of voluntary buyouts this week, further gutting a great newsroom. In May 2023 we had 463 members at the Times. We’re down to 283 before this next round of buyouts.
“It’s heartbreaking to see management here at the LA Times again trying to whittle down our staff that has already been slashed in two rounds of layoffs in less than two years,” Carla Hall, the Times unit chair told me yesterday. “Of course, I’m relieved that they are offering buyouts as a way to shrink the staff, not summarily laying off people. And we hope that they accept everyone who comes forward.”
“What we don’t want to see is a period of buyouts followed by layoffs. Enough. How can we cover another tragedy, like the fires, if the staff is even more hobbled?” Carla said. “Continuing to reduce the staff does not make the paper more viable. It makes it less.”
A new book featuring NewsGuild members is out now! We Are the Union by Eric Blanc focuses on the worker-to-worker model of organizing that revitalized the Guild, Workers United and other unions. It provides a roadmap for workers building a movement by connecting directly with each other. This is how the Guild’s Member Organizing Program works! Workers win their union, then help other workers win their union.
Join us at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 25th for a virtual chat with author Eric Blanc about the impact of worker-to-worker organizing.
NewsGuild members can use promo code UNION50 to buy a discounted copy of the book from the University of California Press.
TNG’s Member Bargaining Bootcamp starts February 19th. Do you have a member who’s been through bargaining, might be able to learn more and then help you bargain contracts in your local? If so, get them to apply!
We launched the program last year and had a successful first cohort. The program has five two-hour trainings over several weeks. Members must commit to attending all the sessions and a few other meetings barring an emergency.
Have folks register here: https://forms.gle/RZesL6zMb4mafStK7
The deadline is Monday, February 10.
New York Daily News journalists are asking supporters to join them at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 13 at KGB Bar in New York to hear about the state of the newsroom. More info here.
In solidarity,
Jon Schleuss
President
The NewsGuild-CWA
