Keep up the Energy

07/01/2019

I’ve been involved with the Guild for almost three decades and never before has our union been more member-driven than we are today.

In the last seven months we’ve had 9 successful organizing drives, with nearly 650 media workers courageously securing their right to have a collective voice in their newsrooms.

In the past, and certainly a trend among many unions, leadership did most of the talking when it came to contract negotiations and settling grievances slated for arbitration. But our members are taking control at the table. They are going toe-to-toe with labor relations and high-paid, anti-union attorneys that continuously try, and fail, to break up our union efforts. Not only have Guild members become skilled negotiators, but they have been able to pressure management by using creative and efficient mobilizing tactics around issues of concern.

Guild members across our shops have been more aggressive in confronting management, utilizing tactics like “march on the boss” to let management know of their serious concerns. 

In a huge show of solidarity, members from shops like Law360, The New York Times, The New Republic, Reuters, and Ziff Davis showed up at member-driven rally to support their colleagues at BuzzFeed News. Our members were calling on Founder & CEO Jonah Peretti and Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith to recognize their union after a four-month delay.

We’ve come so far over the past couple of years, but we need to continue to build our strength. Organizing never stops. Defending our work never stops. It is critical that we maintain this momentum, especially as the media landscape continues to evolve.

This is your union and thanks to all of you, we have never been stronger than we are today.

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