Hundreds of Hearst journalists demand respect

More than 290 journalists across the nationwide Hearst Newspapers chain are calling on their bosses to honor existing union contracts and bargain in good faith over new ones.

“We write on behalf of all unionized Hearst Newspapers journalists — from Albany, Austin, Connecticut, Dallas and San Francisco — requesting that you treat us with the respect and dignity we deserve,” the journalists wrote in a letter to management across the company.

The letter outlines specific asks from employees in each of the five unionized Hearst newsrooms.

• At the Albany Times Union, respect means meeting journalists at the table and renewing bargaining in good faith. 
• At the Austin American-Statesman, it means honoring union members’ status quo rights and agreeing to a contract comparable to what our journalists achieved previously. 
• At Hearst Connecticut Media, it means dropping spurious election appeals and agreeing in a timely fashion to bargain a first contract, while respecting status quo in the meantime. 
• At the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGATE, it means continuing to adhere to the collective bargaining agreement journalists and management negotiated together. 
• At The Dallas Morning News, it means honoring legal obligations in the union contract and investing in an institution that has served Texans for 140 years.

These asks are particularly important as Hearst continues to purchase additional newspapers, including large metro dailies in Austin and Dallas. 

“Hearst could have accepted our contract in Austin. Instead, they chose to throw out our contract, not give us same as benefits as our managers, and deny us union protections,” said Nicole Villalpando, a reporter with the American-Statesman. “That means that every day the reporters and photographers who work for Hearst in Austin are making less in a 401(k) match than their managers and paying more for benefits than their managers.”

“Hearst management has made it abundantly clear that they would rather not deal with a unionized workforce,” said Todd Trumbull, a graphic designer at the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’d like to make it equally clear that not only is the union here to stay at the Chronicle as it has for almost 90 years, but that we eagerly stand with our fellow employees fighting for basic workplace protections and fair representation across Hearst Newspapers.”

“All we ask is that the company honor our rights as unionized employees,” said Alex Putterman, a reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media. “We want fair contracts bargained in good faith and respect for the basic protections we’re entitled to.”

The journalists and media workers are represented by The NewsGuild-CWA, which is the largest union of journalists and media workers in North America.

For more information on this letter, or on the specific circumstances in each newsroom, please contact:

Albany – Wendy Liberatore, Wendy@albanyguild.org
Austin – Nicole Villalpando, Nicole.villalpando@gmail.com
Connecticut – Brian Zahn, bri.zahn@gmail.com
Dallas – Maggie Prosser, dng-unitcouncil@mediaguildwest.org
San Francisco – Todd Trumbull, toddetrumbull@gmail.com