Two Florida Newspapers Unionize Their Newsrooms

Journalists at two Florida newspapers, The Lakeland Ledger and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, have become the only unionized newsroom staffs in the state amid staff reductions and other cost-cutting moves by their owner, GateHouse Media.

John Chambliss, Lakeland Ledger reporter

The Ledger staff approved the idea with a 22-3 vote on Aug. 11, while the journalists of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune voted 22-16 to unionize on Sept. 15. Both newsrooms will be represented by The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, though neither had formally entered contract negotiations at the time of this report.

“Like many newsrooms across the country, ours has been full of bad news over the past couple of years with a number of layoffs and a lack of raises,” said John Chambliss, a Ledger reporter and a leader in organizing the drive. “This effort to unionize brought us together.”

Gary White, Lakeland Ledger reporter

Fellow Ledger reporter Gary White shared a similar sentiment. “I just came to the realization that the other option is doing nothing and just sitting, waiting and hoping the corporate ownership changes its approach for the way it manages the paper. That just didn’t seem like a good option.”

Since GateHouse acquired the Ledger in January 2015, at least 21 newsroom employees have been laid off, and at least six other unfilled positions have been eliminated. The paper's Winter Haven bureau, has gone from four employees to one.

Meanwhile, journalists at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune faced a similar predicament. At least 16 Herald-Tribune newsroom employees have been laid off since Gatehouse acquired the paper in January 2015. Additionally, much of the staff has gone without raises for nearly nine years.

“We had run some numbers and knew it would be close but the majority appeared to be supportive,” said Elizabeth Johnson, a Herald-Tribune investigative reporter. “The final tally was about what we expected, especially after the anti-union campaign.”

Kirk Davis, CEO of GateHouse Media, said he hadn’t heard of anything that resonated to him as being an anti-union tactic against either newspaper.

Kirk Davis, CEO of GateHouse Media

“We’re not anti-union. We’re pro-working with our newsrooms, solving the challenges we face and delighting our readers,” he said. “The union has a conflicting business proposition—to make money itself. We hope in a year our employees deem the intervention unnecessary.”

Though he admitted being disappointed, Davis emphasized his appreciation for the quality of work GateHouse journalists continue to produce.

“The local control and ability to respond to employees’ individual needs will be vastly diminished now,” he said. “However, that doesn’t change the fact that we’re proud of the employees at all our newspapers and the outstanding journalism they do. We’ll just have to keep our eye on what we need to do to continue moving the business forward.”