Sept. 14, 2018 – Calling themselves the Tidewater Media Guild, over 100 newsroom employees at Tronc-owned publications The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review in Virginia have won voluntary recognition. Together these publications account for the dominant media market in the southeastern Virginia region.
They went public and demanded recognition on Sept 4. When management initially declined to grant recognition, they filed for an NLRB RC election on Sept 6 with 83% cards.
They become the second publication this year to win voluntary recognition from Tronc after the Chicago Tribune won voluntary recognition in May.
Issues include job security, gender/race diversity, pay equity, and adequate resources to provide quality coverage for their local communities.
There will be two bargaining units with agreement from the company to engage in joint bargaining: One unit will be The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, and the other will be the community papers Virginia Gazette and Tidewater Review.
When Tronc bought the Norfolk-based Virginian-Pilot in May, workers were concerned about declining standards and potential layoffs under the new ownership and contacted the guild. They soon reached out to their colleagues at fellow Tronc-owned papers at the Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review in order to build company-wide and geographic strength.