Newsletter: Reviewed staff strike; Sun Sentinel journalists organize | The NewsGuild

The staff of Reviewed – a Gannett publication – are on digital strike again today after Independence Day on July 4. The Reviewed union went on strike earlier this week, reiterating demands for fair wages and a violation of the status quo by management.

Throughout the negotiations, management insisted on a proposal that included a pay cut, and writers and editors were required to take on additional responsibilities, which constituted an unlawful change to their working conditions.

“Gannett has repeatedly made us offers that were not in line with our interests while forcing us to do multiple people’s work for the same pay. Since last month, they have wanted us to do work that is not in our job descriptions without giving us raises. We’ve had enough. We’re going to strike until Monday to send a message to Gannett: Until you pay us what we deserve, it’s not business as usual,” said Madison Durham, a senior editor.

To support us during the strike, please share and donate to the Reviewed Union Strike Fund so members can continue to fight for fair wages.

The journalists of the South Florida Sun Sentinel announced this week that they are forming a union to defend the future of their newsroom and South Florida’s access to quality local journalism. An overwhelming majority of Sun Sentinel journalists, 88%, signed cards calling for the union to form. The workers demanded voluntary recognition from owner Tribune Media, which is owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.

The last two decades have been difficult for journalism in general and for the Sun Sentinel staff in particular, as they watched staff reductions and salaries and benefits slashed. Despite dwindling resources, they pulled themselves together and delivered the region and the nation Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the 2018 killings of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. They continue to win awards and receive national praise for their reporting.

Just a month after eight Tribune-affiliated publications ratified historic agreements, workers were organizing at a rapid pace.

Follow the Sun Sentinel Guild on social media.

The IAPE members voted overwhelmingly for a new four-year contract with Dow Jones & Company! Nearly 81% of eligible IAPE voters cast their ballots during the ratification process, a new record turnout for the union.

Over a period of a year, IAPE members have mobilized and demonstrated, filled virtual negotiating rooms and committed to strikes, painted picket signs and scribbled Post-It notes, and pushed management to sign a collective bargaining agreement that includes, among other things, above-inflation wages, better health insurance, some protection from AI, and additional severance pay for job losses due to new technologies.

Their industry-leading contract shows what is possible when members come together to demonstrate the power of a dissatisfied and mobilized workforce.

Our Pittsburgh forwards send out their new jerseys — get one before they’re gone! You can snag one with a $20 donation to the strikers.