Guild Asks Huffington for Dialogue on Future of Journalism
Earlier this month, The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA), called on the unpaid writers at The Huffington Post to withhold their work in support of a strike launched by Visual Art Source in response to the company’s practice of using unpaid labor.
In an open letter today to publisher Arianna Huffington, TNG President Bernie Lunzer wrote that when Huffington Post spokesman Mario Ruiz was asked about TNG’s action, he said, “We stand squarely behind The Newspaper Guild’s mission of ensuring that media professionals receive fair compensation.”
We invite you to demonstrate this commitment by sitting down with the Guild to begin a dialog about the future of journalism. We would like to discuss the values that we share, and build upon them to meet the rapid changes and demands taking place in the industry. Like you, we believe that for journalism to survive it must adapt to the digital age.
Daily Beast Employees Join Newspaper Guild
Workers at the Daily Beast electronic news service will have the same benefits and pay as some of their new co-workers at Newsweek after the two companies merged last month.
Under a framework agreement with the workers’ new union, The Newspaper Guild/CWA (TNG/CWA), non-supervisory editorial employees who produce the Daily Beast will be covered by the same union contract that now covers many of Newsweek’s journalists.
New York Newspaper Guild President Bill O’Meara says:
Newsweek’s Guild members are proud to be part of this exciting new venture that will combine the journalistic resources of a venerable news magazine and a cutting-edge news website in an editorial workplace in which all employees will have a voice.
Welcome LabourStart
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LabourStart, the global online labor news service, for the first time is holding its annual conference in the United States. The conference, which begins today at AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., provides a unique opportunity for union members, staff and leaders to discuss key worker issues with hundreds of LabourStart’s volunteer correspondents around the world.
The Aug. 17-19 conference will be filled with briefings on U.S. labor issues as well as discussions of the latest strategies and technologies to better communicate online with workers worldwide.
AFL-CIO Now will provide coverage of the conference over the next three days.
Boston Globe Workers Reach Tentative Pact; Unions Offer Options for Media Jobs Crisis
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After weeks of intense negotiations, including a 10-hour session last night, The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America (TNG-CWA) and the Boston Globe reached a tentative agreement early this morning that, if approved, would prevent the closure of one of the nation’s oldest newspapers. Meanwhile, in testimony today in the Senate, media unions highlighted strategies for addressing the industry’s finanical crisis.
The New York Times Co., which owns the Globe, had demanded a 23 percent pay cut and changes in job-guarantee language. Details of the tentative deal were not released, pending a meeting with Guild members scheduled for tomorrow.
The Globe deal comes as newspapers across the country are struggling through the recession, which has caused sharp declines in circulation and advertising revenue. Newspapers have laid off staff, eliminated sections, entered into bankruptcy or shut down.
2,000 Tampa City Workers Reach Contract and More Bargaining News
Some 2,000 Tampa City workers, ATU members, reach a contract agreement and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES, JOB ACTIONS
TNG-CWA, Philadelphia Newspapers: Leaders of the Philadelphia Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA) expressed outrage that top executives of the bankrupt Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News received significant year-end bonuses after pushing hundreds of union members to give up a $25-a-week raise. The papers likely will face questions in bankruptcy court next week.
