California's journalists do not consent to this shakedown

 

August 21, 2024

This afternoon, Google, California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, California Governor Gavin Newsom and many of California's publishing lobbies announced "a first-in-the-nation partnership with the State, news publishers, major tech companies and philanthropy, unveiling a pair of multi-year initiatives to provide ongoing financial support to newsrooms across California and launch a National AI Accelerator."

After two years of advocacy for strong antimonopoly action to start turning around the decline of local newsrooms, we are left almost without words. The publishers who claim to represent our industry are celebrating an opaque deal involving taxpayer funds, a vague AI accelerator project that could very well destroy journalism jobs, and minimal financial commitments from Google to return the wealth this monopoly has stolen from our newsrooms.

Not a single organization representing journalists and news workers agreed to this undemocratic and secretive deal with one of the businesses destroying our industry. Moments ago, the following opposition letter was filed with the California legislature:

We represent journalists and news workers who provide essential news for millions of Californians in print, digital, broadcast, commercial and nonprofit newsrooms.

The future of journalism should not be decided in backroom deals. The Legislature embarked on an effort to regulate monopolies and failed terribly. Now we question whether the state has done more harm than good.

California’s journalists and news workers OPPOSE this disastrous deal with Google and condemn the news executives who consented to it in our names.

Signed,

Matt Pearce, President, Media Guild of the West, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213
Jon Schleuss, President, The NewsGuild-CWA
Annie Sciacca, President, Pacific Media Workers Guild, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39521
Carrie Biggs-Adams, President, NABET-CWA Local 51
Javad Ayala, President, NABET-CWA Local 53
Kevin Gallo, Regional Vice President 5, NABET-CWA
Frank Arce, Vice President, Communications Workers of America District 9

The NewsGuild-CWA Racks Up Impressive String of Wins

(The following post comes from The NewsGuild. It demonstrates what good union organizing can accomplish. Most of the victories mentioned were hard-fought and won. All of them will make a tremendous difference in the lives of the workers immediately involved and in the lives of their families and communities. We want to constantly remind people to support the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Strikers and their Pittsburgh Union Progress effort.)   

August 1, 2024

The NewsGuild has been working hard, and this month, they are celebrating a milestone—more than 90 first contracts won in the last three years!

Recent first contract wins include Repair the World, a non-profit dedicated to service, Jewish engagement, and social change represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (TNG-CWA Local 32035). Last week, workers ratified their first contract and won improved floating holidays for religious and cultural observances, extended parental leave, and wage increases. TNG-CWA Local 32035 also celebrated fresh contracts for workers at Common Cause, Duke University Press, and RAICES, including guaranteed wage increases, grievance and arbitration procedures, enhanced benefits, and more.

Journalists at The Salt Lake Tribune, another non-profit newsroom, received voluntary recognition from management one week after going public with their campaign. Workers at the Tribune are represented by the Denver Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local 37074).

Workers at The Palm Beach, The Palm Beach Daily News, The News-Press, and Naples Daily News (TNG-CWA Local 3108) won their first collective bargaining agreements with owner Gannet after nearly four years of negotiations. The agreements guarantee raises for every member in each newsroom. The agreements also freeze healthcare premiums and lock in existing 401(k) matches for members at a time when healthcare costs are skyrocketing.

Congratulations to our newest members, dedicated organizers, and skilled negotiators!

Members of The Palm Beach News Guild and Southwest Florida News Guild, represented by TNG-CWA Local 3108, are celebrating reaching a tentative agreement after four years of negotiating with owner Gannet.

A request for solidarity from The NewsGuild-CWA members at The Desert Sun

Donate to Support The Desert Sun NewsGuild Strike Fund

The NewsGuild-CWA members at The Desert Sun are set to go on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike starting today, March 1. The Desert Sun is the only daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California.

A supermajority of The Desert Sun NewsGuild has voted to authorize a ULP strike after its corporate owner Gannett's refusal to offer consistent cost-of-living raises and health care protections that allow members to sustainably live in the Coachella Valley. Donate below to help workers fight for a fair contract!

Donate here.

Please read this.

And please read this for added context.

The workers at Law360 use direct action

 

Photo take from the AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO's Daily Brief and a dispatch from The News Guild are both highlighting a one-day job action carried on yesterday by the unionized workers at Law360. Many of us use Law360 in our work. The company is owned by LexisNexis and the workers and their union are trying to settle their union contract negotiations on favorable terms. These negotiations have been going on since November of last year.

The closing paragraph of the union's press release describes some of what happened yesterday as follows:

Workers will march in a day-long picket line beginning at 10:30 a.m. outside LexisNexis headquarters at 230 Park Ave. in Manhattan. At 2 p.m, the Guild will hold a rally on the north side of the building on 46th Street featuring speakers including NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava and members of the Law360 Union. Throughout the walkout: Law360 members at offices around the country will gather via Zoom.

I think that this brief description of what occurred yesterday gives a good picture of what a disruptive one-day job action can look like. These actions certainly test the water and raise the bar and assert union and worker power when they involve critical numbers of union members and when they disrupt operations. For many workers such actions may be used to lead up to a more protracted period of protest or to a longer, and hopefully successful, strike.

What occurred yesterday raises some good questions about the increasing use of short strikes and direct action at work. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has detailed how an extended period of worker-led disruption at work in support of reasonable union demands can look like. The Washington State Labor Council has had much to say as these tactics were put into practice at Alaska Airlines. I mention the workers in the airlines in order to make the point that coordinated union disruption at work can win support from many places that we might not expect. Taking direct action can be scary, but it is much easier to do when you can be confident that you will have support and that others have your back.

Thank you to the workers at Law360 for your bravery!

(The views expressed here are the views of the author only.)