Press

NEW YORK - As The New Yorker celebrates its hundredth year in print with a new Netflix documentary, dozens of its staff members — represented by the NewsGuild of New York — lined the sidewalk distributing flyers, which educated fans of the magazine about union-busting happening behind the scenes. 

NEW YORK – Unionized journalists of color at Forbes magazine continue to be paid significantly less – and stay on staff for significantly shorter periods of time –  than their white counterparts, according to a new study by Forbes Union and The NewsGuild of New York. 

Statement from The NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava on the passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

This morning -- through the press -- we learned of The New York Times’ decision to ignore the New York Times Tech Guild’s democratic decision to unionize, and to instead delay their recognition by forcing them to the National Labor Relations Board.

Our voices were heard! After the company’s sudden announcement last week of a change in editorial leadership and its intention to centralize the magazine's operations in Washington D.C., Guild members had a number of conversations with management. As a result, TNR management has agreed that no employee currently working in New York City will be asked to relocate and no one will lose their jobs relating to the company’s decision to increase its footprint in D.C.

Tribune Publishing won’t recognize our union, but it also won’t pay us the bonuses it promised to “non-union” employees -- and the company is using the union election process it forced us into as an excuse to not give us those checks.

When Daily Beast management – led by our new corporate partners Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles – informed us several weeks ago they were looking to slash staff in our newsroom, our bargaining team went right to work.

We successfully negotiated a robust buyout plan for our members, giving them the chance to decide for themselves if they wanted to leave the company. Twenty-five unit members, or roughly 70 percent of our unit, applied for the buyout. Our members now have a seven-day window to accept the buyout or rescind their application, which will mean the total number of members who choose to leave could change.

We have also won job security for unit members who choose to stay with the Company. Because we expect to exceed $1.5 million in payroll savings through the buyouts, unit members will be protected from any layoffs through Dec. 31, 2024.

We have also struck a tentative two-year collective bargaining agreement with the Company that benefits all of our members, whether they are choosing to take a buyout or staying. We have achieved retroactive pay increases from January 1 for all members. For members who are staying, the contract lifts wages for the lowest earners by at least 4% in 2024 (4.5% in 2025); mid-range earners by 2.5% in 2024 and 3% in 2025; higher-paid earners by 1% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025; and top-paid workers by .5% in both years.

We have been in the driver's seat of this process since Sherwood and Coles arrived at the Beast. We have battled with Company lawyers, demanded information in the face of uncertainty, and have won the fight for our colleagues to design their own futures. The security and dignity we’ve afforded our colleagues affirms that our work is valuable and empowering. No matter how many members accept the buyout, our work as a Union will continue. Managers come and go, but we, the Daily Beast Union, are here to stay.

From the NYTimes:  More than 100 New York Times workers and their supporters protested outside The Times’s Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, accusing the company of delaying contract talks.