A FIRST: NYGuild President Susan DeCarava Honored with ‘Visionary Award’ by NYC Central Labor Council

NEW YORK – Susan DeCarava, President of The NewsGuild of New York, will be recognized with the ‘Visionary Award’ at NYC Central Labor Council’s Annual Awards Reception Tuesday, May 13. She is the first NYGuild leader to be so honored in the award’s nearly 60-year history. 

DeCarava is one of three NYC labor leaders and organizations to be recognized at the event, which will be held at Hotel Eventi in New York City. 

DeCarava will receive the Visionary Award “in appreciation and recognition of her steadfast advocacy for equity and democracy in the media industry, and her tireless leadership in driving unprecedented organizing campaigns that have raised standards, expanded protections, and built power for journalists and media workers across New York City and beyond.”

“I am so honored to receive the NYCCLC’s Visionary Award, especially in the company of all the dedicated labor leaders working to improve what it means to work and live in our great city. As someone who comes from the rank-and-file of our union, it is one of the greatest privileges of my professional life to work collectively with NYGuild members to build a deeply organized, worker-powered union,” DeCarava said. 

“Democracy requires a diverse free press, from national to local, from corporate to non-profit to independent. We make it possible for media workers to pursue their craft ethically while earning a living wage and contributing to the safeguarding of democracy.”

Born in Brooklyn, DeCarava launched her labor career by working with coworkers to organize her then-workplace, the Writers Guild of America, East. She joined the NYGuild in 2008 as a Local Representative, later running for and winning the position of Local President in 2020. 

The first Black woman to hold the office of president, DeCarava ushered in a renewed commitment to building worker power through member-led collective action, diversity in workplaces and bargaining progressive contracts. Under her leadership, the Guild doubled the number of new members, won standard-setting contracts —including for Times Tech, the largest unit of tech workers in the country—  and built campaigns to improve working conditions throughout the media industry.

“Under Susan's leadership, The NewsGuild of New York has stood up to media bosses to make sure that workers are treated fairly and can continue to do the important work that is the foundation of our democracy,” said Jenny Vrentas, a business reporter at The New York Times and Local Chair of The NewsGuild of New York. “She has empowered thousands of workers across the New York area to fight for higher standards not only in our workplaces, but for the media industry as a whole.”

Earlier this year she was also named to Politics NY’s 2025 Black Power Players list as well as Politics NY and amNY’s 2025 Labor Power Players list. Her latest award not only recognizes DeCarava’s leadership as a labor leader, but it also honors her role in protecting a free press. 

"Susan is a visionary leader who has pushed our entire union to fight for and win things we used to believe impossible," said Jon Schleuss, president of The NewsGuild-CWA. "She's helped organize thousands of workers, led several dozen strikes and she's raised the standards of the news industry. Susan battled to increase pay equity, protect just cause and to raise minimum pay to a level some said was unattainable. And Susan builds up others, which truly makes her a great leader. She's a mentor to hundreds of members in our union, myself included."