NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America President Jon Schleuss joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the recent successful vote of 600 tech workers at the New York Times to join The NewsGuild of New York, which already represents other Times employees.
By a count of 404 to 88, the workers voted to form the Times Tech Guild and create the largest tech-worker union in the U.S. The NewsGuild already represented about 1,300 Times reporters, photographers and security guards, but tech workers lacked representation. Schleuss said the fight to unionize took over years and faced aggressive opposition from management. The company continues to face claims it unlawfully interfered with labor organizing.
Schleuss then talked about an upcoming vote for Record-Courier employees in Ohio, who want to join the existing Akron Beacon-Journal union. Both newspapers are owned by the Gannett Media Corporation, which refused to recognize Record-Courier employees’ right to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled with the union and authorized a March 15 vote.
Schleuss also spoke about the NewsGuild’s support of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, which would provide a $25,000 refundable tax credit to organizations that support local news jobs. The act was part of the Build Back Better budget reconciliation bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the U.S. Senate. He hopes it will still pass in some form.
Schleuss then discussed the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which would provide news media the leverage to negotiate better financial terms with Google and Facebook. He said the NewsGuild would support the bill if it could include language that better protects local journalism jobs.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.
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