Editorial Staff of The New Republic Join the NewsGuild of New York

For Immediate Release: Monday, April 16
Contact: Josh Austin, josh@nyguild.org | (484) 269-0158

New York––Editorial employees of The New Republic have announced that an overwhelming majority of its staff have joined the NewsGuild of New York, TNG-CWA Local 31003, the union that represents nearly 3,000 media professionals in the Greater New York City area. The NewsGuild of New York is part of the larger 24,000-member NewsGuild-CWA, which represents news professionals across 51 states and Canada.

The staff of the over 100-year old magazine, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., requested voluntary recognition of the NewsGuild of New York as their collective bargaining representative in a letter presented to management Monday morning.  

Joining the growing ranks of editorial employees seeking union representation, including most recently at the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, and Mic.com, the staff of TNR hopes to collectively strengthen the magazine at a time of instability and uncertainty in the media industry. TNR employees hope to make improvements in pay, benefits, job security, and diversity, while fostering an environment within the magazine that enables collaboration and transparency. The staff is confident that management will adhere to its progressive values and swiftly recognise the NewsGuild so that bargaining can begin.  

“We all work for TNR because we love it here, but all workers need the protection of a union,” said Sarah Jones, staff writer. “We believe that unionizing is the best way to strengthen our workplace, not just for ourselves but for future generations of journalists. By organizing, we're simply affirming our commitment to The New Republic's progressive values. We're also affirming our commitment to each other.”

“I've always been proud to work at The New Republic, but I'm especially proud now that the staff has come together to ensure that we continue to live up to the magazine's values and make our workplace stronger by unionizing with the NewsGuild. There have been many chapters in TNR’s history, but we are especially excited about the next one,” said Alex Shepherd, staff writer.

“Our union is proud to welcome the staff of the New Republic,” said Grant Glickson, NewsGuild of New York President. “At a time when our industry needs unions, we are excited to see the staff of this 100-year-old publication demand a seat at the table and a say in the future of the publication. We look forward to working with management in these shared goals.”

Full mission statement below:

“As editorial employees of The New Republic, we believe in the importance of thoughtful writing, careful analysis, and convincing argument. We are proud to work for a publication that has been committed to these values for more than a century, and we want to uphold this tradition well into the future. The best way to achieve this goal, we believe, is as members of a union.

For many years, unions have strengthened the newsrooms at publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Foreign Policy, and Reuters, as well as at digital media companies such as The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast. These publications prove that unions enable excellent writing and powerful reporting, both in print and online. By unionizing, we hope to stand in solidarity with our peers and make the media industry stronger and more equitable for generations to come.

Forming a union will also allow us to live the values we have espoused on our website and in the pages of our magazine. As a vital liberal voice, The New Republic has long chronicled the role of unions in preserving the middle class and giving workers a meaningful place in the political process. In recent years, we have examined the struggles of Americans across a range of industries, from teachers and graduate students to athletes and domestic workers. We have cast a critical eye on the spread of right-to-work laws in the states and the efforts of the Trump administration, the Supreme Court, and conservative lawmakers like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to crack down on collective bargaining rights. And we have explored the ways in which the labor movement can be reinvigorated in the 21st century and help lead the way to a more just and inclusive society.

We believe that joining the NewsGuild is the best way to contribute to this new era in The New Republic’s history and create a safe, fair workplace for everyone. We organize from a position of enthusiasm for The New Republic and the work we do together. We hope to nurture a culture of collaboration, transparency, and growth that will sustain our tradition of opinion journalism. And we all feel a strong sense of commitment to The New Republic, our colleagues, and our readers. By unionizing, we want to make good on that commitment and be the best partners we can be in TNR’s future.”

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The NewsGuild, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, represents nearly 3,000 media professionals and other employees at New York area news organizations, including The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, The Nation and The Daily Beast.