Nov. 14, 2018 – Journalists of the Capital Gazette, the Carroll County Times and the Baltimore Sun Media Group – all based in Maryland – are uniting to demand union recognition from their employers, they announced on Nov. 14.
“Local journalism is unique,” organizers wrote in an open letter they posted online and distributed throughout the three newsrooms.
“We are your neighbors, the eyes and ears of your communities. We report on what matters most to you every day: the crime down the block, the local football team, your child’s school. Whether the sun shines or disaster strikes, we are right there with you. As local news outlets dwindle, we know now more than ever that quality community news is a gift too precious to lose.
“But that important work grows more difficult each day because of decisions made by distant corporate owners on behalf of shareholders,” they said. “Decisions that have led to smaller newsrooms, stagnant wages and limited resources.”
A small contingent of journalists at each of the newsrooms presented their bosses with petitions at about 2 p.m. asking management to voluntarily recognize their union, The Chesapeake News Guild. The Chesapeake Guild is part of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, a local of The NewsGuild-CWA.
While the contingent met with management, others decorated their work stations with posters supporting the cause.
The three news organizations are owned by Tribune Publishing and together they make up the fourth group to organize at Tribune-owned news outlets this year. The others are the Chicago Tribune, the Tidewater [VA] Media Guild and the Los Angeles Times, which Tribune Publishing sold just weeks after workers there won a resounding vote to unionize.
A letter of support for the union organizing effort signed by NewsGuild units at the Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune and the Tidewater [VA] Media Guild was posted almost immediately after the announcement was made. Messages of support from numerous other groups were posted on Twitter as well.
“After years of our company underinvesting in our newsrooms, we are tired.
“We are tired of bearing a workload that requires a newsroom four times the size. We are tired of not receiving reasonable cost of living raises, despite the fact we bear the additional responsibilities of our former co-workers. We are tired of having staffs too small to cover all the stories our readers care about,” they wrote.
“We’ve watched talented colleagues leave jobs they love in order to afford a house, or start a family, or just live without the constant threat of layoffs. Nobody should have to choose between doing a job they love and having people they love.
“So we aren’t waiting for someone else to make decisions that affect the communities we cover, communities in which those decision-makers have never set foot.
“Together, as the Chesapeake News Guild, we are fighting for change.
“We want respect for the work we do and a living wage to go along with it. We want real investment in our newsrooms and the people who make them work. We want a seat at the table.
“That is why we are asking Tribune Publishing, our parent company, to voluntarily recognize us as a unit of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. We believe in the future of journalism, and we hope Tribune will join us in building that future.
“Together, we will fight to protect local journalism – because no community is too small. Please join us.”
Because no community is too small.
Three newsrooms. One union.