Tessera
Folgen

The NewsGuild of New York

@nyguild.bsky.social

We are the union for media workers. Inquiries: communications@nyguild.org.

268 Posts2190 Follower268 Folgt
The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · 5d ago

From President Susan DeCarava: “This contract is life-changing for many of our members and will allow them to continue to produce the journalism that’s making a real difference at a time when readers need it the most.” More details here nyguild.org/post/propubl...

ProPublica Guild wins first contract on third anniversary of its union recognition

NEW YORK – NewsGuild of New York-represented staff at ProPublica have won a first contract with the nonprofit investigative newsroom in a deal that gives staff …

nyguild.org

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 5d ago

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

A graphic poster reads "We have a deal! The ProPublica Guild has reached a deal with ProPublica's management on our first contract and has voted to ratify it. Swipe for the highlights [pointing emoji].
Marshall Project Guild@marshallprojectguild.org · 5d ago

We put down our counterproposal for fair Just Cause this week with the majority of our unit at the table to support it — but not our CEO, who declined to attend bargaining. Read our full bargaining update for more, including the shocking healthcare increases we're being asked to shoulder:

We returned to bargaining on Monday to present the fair Just Cause counterproposal the workers of TMP deserve – many of those same workers came to the table in support. This proposal is foundational to our contract and absolutely critical to our members. It’s disappointing that while many of us (almost 70% of our unit!) made the effort to attend, our CEO did not. We are deeply invested in the future of TMP, and the Just Cause language we codify in our final contract has serious implications for that future. We invited Katrice to this session both in our previous shop paper and in follow up communications in the hopes that she, as the leader of the company’s long-term strategy and vision, would be a part of the conversation around Just Cause and listen directly to our concerns and demands. Management’s counsel, Eddie, declined on her behalf. Throughout the bargaining session, Eddie cited hypothetical scenarios, rather than directly addressing the working conditions at TMP. It would have been both productive and effective to instead speak with Katrice to address these scenarios with real context and specifics. Eddie repeatedly clarified that he, as the lead spokesperson of management’s bargaining committee, discusses and evaluates all proposals directly with senior leadership including our CEO. Management argues that our unique unwritten editorial guidelines make us an exception to industry-standard fair Just Cause. In reality, this argument protects their ability to invent and arbitrarily enforce those guidelines to then discipline and discharge workers as they see fit. What management fails to acknowledge is that the tenets of Just Cause embody the mission of our organization, the legacy of Thurgood Marshall, and the stories we tell. Fair Just Cause is the standard of fairness that we deserve in return. Following our Just Cause counter, we asked questions about the tumultuous state of healthcare and pressed management on the status of our Quotas and Metrics pr…✊ Just Cause / “Discipline and Discharge” Our initial Just Cause proposal – which relied on the industry-standard language “there shall be no discipline or dismissal without just and sufficient cause,” used by newsrooms including The New York Times, Reuters, and the Chicago Tribune – was countered by management with an alarming response in March. Their counter included loopholes allowing them to combine or even skip disciplinary steps and placed an incredibly high burden of proof on employees in the arbitration process, effectively making workers guilty until proven innocent. This is a regressive process, one that we rejected with our new counterproposal on Monday. Our counter enumerates the acceptable steps of progressive discipline and clarifies communication expectations. At its core, the counter relies on the seven tests of Just Cause. These tests already give supervisors the clear ability to discipline and terminate workers, as long as they follow due process. Management’s attempt to codify loopholes and undefined guidelines on top of these long-established legal tests is an unacceptable attempt to retain enormous subjective power to discipline and discharge workers. We remain committed to fair Just Cause and call on management to do the same. 🚑 Healthcare As you’re all aware, the cost of our United Health Care insurance plans provided by TriNet have increased for the second year in a row and the burden is being shouldered by employees. While we understand that the landscape of healthcare in America is complex, it’s insulting to sit across from management’s counsel and hear him insist that our care is not being downgraded. Many of our workers are now weighing major medical decisions – like how to continue to care for their families, if they can still afford to proceed with scheduled surgeries – against what would amount to a substantial pay cut. Any employee above the Basic EPO plan will have to cover 100% of the premium increase out of their own pocket, leading in some cases to out-of-pocket healthcare costs skyrocketing to more than $15,000 annually for members on the Standard Family plan. Management’s decision to shift extra costs onto employees punishes those with the most need, like people with families or chronic conditions, by allowing their premiums to increase by the greatest factor. And as workers making less money than managers, these costs are often even harder for us to absorb. Management insists that these changes are not a violation of status quo, because they have continued to contribute the same maximum dollar amount toward employee healthcare plans as they did before we began bargaining. It is the position of the workers of TMP that this constitutes a violation of status quo because our plan design, scope of coverage, and employee cost have all changed. The employer-covered healthcare the vast majority of us were promised in hiring has lost almost all of its value. Employees who paid nothing out of pocket in Fall 2024 for the UHC Standard plan are now offered the lesser UHC Basic plan for Fall 2026 unless they cover the difference out of pocket. This is a significant downgrade in standard of care for those who elect to remain on the employer-covered plan and a sharp cut in compensation…📈 Quotas & Metrics Management wholesale rejected our three previous proposals on Quotas and Metrics. When pressed again at the table on Monday about why, Eddie cited an earlier written rejection. He said if they did choose to respond, they would do so in the context of our Just Cause counterproposal. This is concerning as we believe any quotas, metrics or “expectations” for output may affect numerous aspects of our working conditions: workload, assignments, hours, etc., not just discipline. Eddie said that bargaining does not mean that they are required to offer us a counterproposal, only that they have to speak to their reasoning for rejecting proposals. Work Authorization We put down a counter on Work Authorization, which was formerly the Visas and Immigration proposal. We renamed the counter to better reflect the scope of the proposal, which isn’t limited to visas. In our newly proposed language, we responded to several of management’s concerns and refined the proposal to clarify required communication. We’ll wait to see how management responds. That’s all for updates today. Thanks to every worker who showed up in support of fair Just Cause, and to those who were sending support in our own channels. We’ll be back at the bargaining table next week on Thursday, August 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · 2w ago

We spoke out when this happened to our @nytimesguild.bsky.social members and were joined by a chorus of press freedom and advocacy groups around the country. We will always stand behind our members and for a free press. Democracy depends on journalism.

CNN@cnn.com · 2w ago

Trump's DOJ withdraws subpoenas compelling NY Times journalists to testify about anonymous sources in reporting on Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet https://cnn.it/4gU4hmS

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 3w ago

It’s important that staffers “don’t feel like they have to get a second job or even leave the industry… to make ends meet,” says engagement reporter Asia Fields, who wants a strong contract both for our members and to help the journalism industry at large.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 3w ago

“ProPublica can be extremely generous with its senior reporters,” says reporter Doug Bock Clark, “but for entry level people… they’re not getting paid enough.” We need contract language that ensures fair wages for all ProPublica employees.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4w ago

“ProPublica management should honor all of the years of service that so many have devoted to making [it] the investigative powerhouse it’s become,” says Nadia Sussman, who has been a video journalist at ProPublica for almost nine years. We need seniority-based layoff protections in our contract.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4w ago

“I started about three months ago, right after I got laid off at the Washington Post,” says audio producer Sabby Robinson, “layoff protections are really important to me.” Our message to @propublica.org management: we need strong layoff protections in our contract!

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4w ago

“I believe that all of my colleagues in every department … are doing invaluable work,” says regional office manager Liz Barr, “I don’t believe that any of them can be responsibly replaced with AI.” We deserve a contract that bars management from replacing workers with AI.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4w ago

“We have people living in areas with wildly different costs of living and currently our pay scales don’t really account for that,” says Texas-based reporter Zach Despart. All of our union members must make a living wage.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4w ago

Lisa Riordan Seville, senior video producer at @propublica.org: “We're asking for wages that allow people to take care of their families, pay the rising costs of housing and food ... so they can continue to do the kind of work that wins Pulitzers and holds power to account.”

The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · 4w ago

We are so proud of our @propublicaguild.org members who are speaking out about their fight for a fair contract. Management continues to reject very basic AI guardrails. Here's Dan Phiffer with more....

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

Dan Phiffer is a software engineer who helps build the ProPublica website: “It's been very frustrating to see such a stark contrast between those efforts to get AI right, in practice, with management's vague and unfettered bargaining position.”

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

“In a media industry that's doing constant layoffs,” says senior YouTube producer Elizabeth Macaulay, “it means so much to know that you are secure in your workplace and that you can continue to do your best work.”

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

Dan Phiffer is a software engineer who helps build the ProPublica website: “It's been very frustrating to see such a stark contrast between those efforts to get AI right, in practice, with management's vague and unfettered bargaining position.”

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

ProPublica reporter Sharon Lerner likes going into the office, but “there are days when it doesn’t make sense, like when I’m making calls to another country or too busy to spend the time on the train.” We need a flexible return-to-office policy.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

A rigid return to office policy just doesn’t make sense for the way we work at ProPublica. Development team member Megan Martenyi wants to see an RTO policy with flexibility that allows for everyone to do their best work.

The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · last mo.

Our @ProPublica members are a big part of @propublica.org's success. They deserve the same basic hybrid work protections that many of our other bargaining units have enshrined in their contracts. @propublica.org continues to be an outlier.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

Ruth Talbot works on the news apps team at ProPublica: “I work with absolutely incredible, driven, dedicated, talented people here, who I trust to get their work done wherever works best for them.” Support our fight for an RTO policy that preserves flexibility: www.propublicaguild.org

The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · last mo.

Our @propublicaguild members are asking for layoff protections that are STANDARD in many of our contracts across our union. @propublica management is once again an outlier.

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

Podcast producer Sabby Robinson knows firsthand how important layoff protections are in a union contract: “I started about 3 months ago, right after I got laid off from the Washington Post.” We deserve seniority-based layoff protections that are standard across the news industry.

The NewsGuild of New York@nyguild.bsky.social · last mo.

We are so proud of our @propublicaguild members who are bravely talking about the wide disparities in pay at the nonprofit newsroom. Our members should not have to work second jobs to make ends meet!

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

As ProPublica’s IT support specialist Penny Serrano puts it: “We're just simply asking for a contract that reflects those values — and not just in words but also in wages.” Help us ensure fair pay for all our workers: www.propublicaguild.org

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

“It’s really important for ProPublica that we have reporters who aren’t just parachuting in … but who actually live in the communities,” says reporter Jennifer Smith Richards. “The problem is that … we’re not paid the same.” Help ProPublica’s workers fight for fair pay: www.propublicaguild.org

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

ProPublica events manager Rocio Ortega has taken on Uber Eats and DoorDash deliveries to make ends meet. This shouldn’t be any of our workers’ financial reality. We need a contract that guarantees all our members fair pay: www.propublicaguild.org

@nytimesguild.bsky.social · last mo.

Our health-care fund is in a financial crisis. There’s an easy fix: The Times can agree to our proposal that fully funds it - but they refuse. They want us to believe it’s “not sustainable.”

Bild
ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

News apps developer Brandon Roberts says it best: No one who works at ProPublica should be living paycheck to paycheck. Support our fight for fair wages: www.propublicaguild.org

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · last mo.

“It’s really important for ProPublica that we have reporters who aren’t just parachuting in … but who actually live in the communities,” says reporter Jennifer Smith Richards. “The problem is that … we’re not paid the same.” Help ProPublica’s workers fight for fair pay: www.propublicaguild.org