Albany Guild member Tim Neff, winner of the Hearst Eagle Award, the company's highest honor, writes on the local's website about taking pride in your union and your job: "Though it may seem wise to keep our heads down, history tells us something different. Many of our Guild colleagues have been active in membership activities yet still have gone on to management positions here at the Times Union. Others have earned praise from the Times Union for their work even amid their activities on behalf of the Guild."
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September 24, 2012— Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild
After a year of bargaining, an active Guild mobilization campaign and off-the-record talks has led to a contract for 170 members at the Canton Repository. Photo: Local President Bob George and Canton unit Chair Necole Sims at one of many rallies outside the Repository building.
The Buffalo Guild is sponsoring a team in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Sunday, Sept. 30. "We encourage everyone to participate in the walk and represent the Guild in the fight against this disease," Guild leaders say.
It’s the stuff that nagging recurring dreams are made of, New York Guild leaders say: Every time you’re just about to get to where you want to be, something happens that screws it up. And so it is with the Guild’s marathon effort to wrap up a new contract for its members with the management of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The Pacific Media Workers Guild has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in response to a published correction that identified reporter Hunter Bishop. The Guild maintains that the paper unfairly discriminated and retaliated against Bishop for his federally protected union activities. Bishop was fired six years ago for exercising his union rights; he was vindicated by the NLRB and U.S. Court of Appeals and returned to work in July. Photo: Bishop and colleagues celebrate his reinstatement.
A 12-hour rally outside MBS radio Friday, Sept. 14, lifted the spirits of the company's seven striking workers, members of the Canadian Media Guild-CWA. The workers organized in the fall of 2011; they went on strike June 25 after nine months of attempting to bargain a first contract. Photo: Ron Oldfield, president of the Saint John Labour Council, addresses the rally. Photo by Joe Comeau.
United Media Guild President Jeff Gordon shares a plea from longtime local activist Barry Gilbert, who is asking other members to step up as activists and leaders. Times are hard, he acknowledges, "But just imagine what working at the P-D (Post-Dispatch) under Lee would be without the Guild." Gordon adds, "Guild membership gives you an opportunity to fight for the craft of journalism and the quality of your jobs. Employees in non-union workplaces do not have that opportunity."
The Providence Guild has sent a letter to Providence Journal management suggesting the two sides work together to find savings that could avert layoffs; management's response suggested the company is interested in talking but won't be able to respond with specifics until after the first week of October. In a letter to members, union leaders said, "The Guild plans on using the weeks before October to evaluate what, if anything, we’re willing to sacrifice."
NewsGuild-CWA was named one of five members, and co-chair, of the creditors’ committee as the Journal Register Company bankruptcy proceeded Thursday with an initial hearing in New York City. The Guild represents seven JRC newspapers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Michigan. Philadelphia Guild Executive Director Bill Ross will serve as the union's representative on the committee.
In contract talks this week, Times' and Guild negotiators continued to discuss the "Incentive Bonus Plan," but management refused to improve on its original offer, capping the maximum annual bonus for employees at just 2 percent of salary. “Why is it so hard for you to recognize the contributions of our members?" Local President Bill O'Meara said. "This is a needless slap in the face.”
