Austin American-Statesman journalists picket on Congress Bridge Thursday at noon

The Austin NewsGuild picketed at noon on Thursday, March 7, at the Congress Bridge in front of the old Austin American-Statesman building, located at 305 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704. Workers plan to advocate for fair pay for American-Statesman journalists and to protect the 152-year-old publication covering Texas’ capital.

This picket comes after members of its bargaining unit sent a full package with wage proposals and other crucial items to the company last week and have told Gannett, owner of the Statesman, they will not return to the bargaining table until the company has a serious offer. 

We have not heard back since then. 

Previously, members of the Guild’s bargaining committee met with Gannett’s lawyer and human resources executive, along with executive editor Manny Garcia on a weekly basis to bargain. 

But those efforts have yet to produce an agreement as the company continues to only offer journalists a wage floor of $48,000 and no raises until employees work for the company for six years. This is only one area of the contract where we find ourselves far away from the company. 

Austin News Guild members strike on Congress Bridge in Austin, TX
(Austin NewsGuild member & Austin American Statesman staff photographer, Mikala Compton)

The Austin NewsGuild’s demands are reasonable. The union wants a reasonable wage floor for employees, who live in a city where the average home price was $540,000 in 2023. Last year, management at The Dallas Morning News agreed to a $55,000 wage floor for union members and management at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram agreed to a $52,000 wage floor. The average home price in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was $376,200 in 2023.

Gannett must invest in its employees to save the future of the Statesman. The guild has been negotiating for three years with the company, and we urge the company to stop stalling and work with union members toward a reasonable and fair contract.

The effects of Gannett’s leadership are clear. The company took over the Statesman in 2019 after it merged with Gatehouse, which bought the Statesman in 2018. The Statesman had 110 newsroom members on staff in 2018. Now, in 2024, the paper has 42 union newsroom staff members. During the past three years, 41 staffers have left the Statesman. Along with the newsroom, the size of the newspaper has also shrunk. A spot evaluation of the paper showed 30 local stories on one April day in 2018 compared to nine on the same day in 2023.

To help ensure our journalists are paid during our potential strike, Austin NewsGuild has set up a GoFundMe- Fundraiser for Bridget Grumet by Paul Albani-Burgio : Austin American-Statesman NewsGuild Strike Fund (gofundme.com)

In addition, the Guild started a letter campaign for members of the public to tell Gannett executives to stop stalling and start bargaining in good faith. So far 830 letters have been sent. 

For more information on the strike, contact unit council vice chair Cat Vasquez, 512-799-2534, catv79@gmail.com.