Late Thursday the White House offered support for NewsGuild-CWA members who have been on unfair labor strikes across the United States in recent days. Hundreds of workers have been on strike at different outlets including Insider, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and two dozen Gannett newsrooms.
In a statement provided exclusively to the Insider Union’s strike publication Business Outsider, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre threw the administration’s support behind recent newsroom unfair labor practice strikes breaking out in local newsrooms and digital outlets.
“Across the country, we’ve seen a historic wave of newsrooms demanding fair pay and benefits. This week alone, journalists at Gannett, Insider, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remain on strike,” said Jean-Pierre. “All workers deserve a voice in the workplace, and journalists are no different.”
“Journalists make it possible for ordinary citizens to better understand their world, be active citizens, and question authority — it’s only right that journalists be able to do so in their workplaces without fear of retaliation or intimidation,” Jean-Pierre continued. “President Biden stands behind the right to strike and urges media companies and their workers to negotiate in good faith and reach mutually beneficial agreements that ensure striking journalists get the fair benefits, quality of life, and wages that they deserve.”
Insider Union members and leadership at The NewsGuild appreciate the apology, as well as the support of the White House. “I appreciate the President’s support for journalists in this moment when news employers are openly violating the law at Insider, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gannett, and other publications. Journalists are the watchdogs of democracy’s flame and deserve respect and dignity in their workplaces,” Jon Schleuss, President of The NewsGuild-CWA, told Business Outsider.
Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of TNG-CWA, agrees. “We appreciate President Biden’s support in acknowledging the necessity of unionized newsrooms to maintain a free press. I hope Insider management will come back to the bargaining table with an agreement that addresses our demands and that our members will ratify.”